Berlin, Germany – Stem cells are the primordial cells of life from which all other types of cells develop. Both the benevolent cells that are vital to life as well as the malignant ones that degenerate into diseases such as cancer. Whichever path they take, stem cells employ various strategies to defend themselves against change and attack in the best possible manner. In 2018, the German Stem Cell Network (GSCN) is honoring the researchers who are studying these processes closely in order to understand them better. They all share the same goal – acquiring a highly detailed understanding of the molecular processes so that they can be influenced in future, and also treated in the event of disease.

• The GSCN 2018 Young Investigator Award goes to Dr. Nina Cabezas-Wallscheid (Max Planck Institute).
• The GSCN 2018 Female Scientist Award goes to Prof. Maria Elena Torres-Padilla (Institute for Epigenetics and Stem Cells).
• The GSCN 2018 Publication of the Year Award goes to Dr. Maja Milanovic (Universitätsmedizin Berlin) and Prof. Clemens Schmitt (Universitätsmedizin Berlin’s Medical Department and Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association) for “Senescence-associated reprogramming promotes cancer stemness”, Nature (Milanovic, M et al., 2017, 553, 96–100; doi: 10.1038/nature25167).

Read more on the GSCN website.