In recognition of his fundamental contributions to understanding ubiquitin signalling and its role in cellular regulation, Prof. Ivan Đikić will be awarded the Otto Warburg Medal 2027 of the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM).

Since 1963, the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM) has been awarding the Otto Warburg Medal to outstanding scientists for their lifetime scientific achievements. Prof. Ivan Đikić, Director of the Institute of Biochemistry II at the Goethe University Frankfurt, has been selected as the recipient of the Otto Warburg Medal 2027. He is internationally recognised for his pioneering work on ubiquitin signalling and selective autophagy, which has fundamentally advanced our understanding of cellular quality control and the molecular mechanisms underlying human disease. The prize is endowed with 25,000 € and will be conferred at the 78th Mosbacher Kolloquium of the GBM on March 19, 2027.

Professor Ivan Đikić has made fundamental contributions to understanding ubiquitin signalling, helping establish ubiquitin as a versatile regulatory molecule that controls numerous cellular processes beyond protein degradation. His pioneering discoveries of ubiquitin-binding domains revealed how ubiquitin signals are recognised and translated into specific cellular responses. Further studies uncovered the importance of linear ubiquitin chains in inflammatory and immune signalling and established key roles for ubiquitin in DNA repair and cellular quality control. His research also revealed how bacterial pathogens exploit the ubiquitin system through unconventional ubiquitination mechanisms to manipulate host cell functions, opening new directions in the study of host–pathogen interactions.

Another major focus of his research has been selective autophagy, the process by which cells recognise and eliminate damaged organelles, protein aggregates and intracellular pathogens. Through the discovery and characterisation of selective autophagy receptors and their regulatory mechanisms, his team has advanced our understanding of cellular quality control and its relevance to human diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders and hereditary sensory neuropathies.

Throughout his career, Professor Đikić has combined structural biology, biochemistry, proteomics and cell biology to investigate fundamental questions in the molecular life sciences. His interdisciplinary approach has helped bridge basic research and medical science. In addition to his scientific achievements, he has promoted international collaboration, supported the development of young researchers and contributed to communicating the importance of science to the public.

Professor Đikić studied medicine at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, before completing his PhD in molecular biology at New York University. Following postdoctoral research at New York University Medical Center, he established his first independent research group at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Uppsala, Sweden. In 2002, he was appointed Professor of Biochemistry at the Goethe University Frankfurt, where he became Director of the Institute of Biochemistry II in 2009. Since then, he has played an important role in transforming Frankfurt into an internationally recognized hub for cutting-edge research in autophagy and targeted protein degradation. His many honours include the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine, as well as the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine. He is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, among other scientific academies.

The Otto Warburg Medal is considered one of the highest awards in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology in Germany. Since 1963, it has been awarded annually by the GBM to recognise outstanding achievements in fundamental biochemical and molecular biological research. Previous recipients include several Nobel Prize winners, such as Peter Hegemann, Emmanuelle Charpentier, Randy Schekman, James Rothman and Kurt Wüthrich.

Since 2012, the GBM has worked closely with Elsevier, a leading global information analytics company, and Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA), one of its most established journal families, to sponsor the 25,000 € prize. In the words of Daniel Otzen, Editor-in-Chief of BBA, “As an internationally respected journal series for excellent research in the molecular and mechanistic aspects of life science, BBA considers it a defining duty to collaborate with Elsevier in promoting such research. The Otto Warburg Medal is a very important manifestation of this. It is the most prestigious biochemical award in Germany, recognizing outstanding scientists whose work significantly advances our better understanding of the living world – both around and within us – at the fundamental level.” For the second year in a row, Elsevier and BBA are also collaborating with Cell Press on their presence at the Mosbach event.

The award ceremony will take place during the 78th Mosbacher Kolloquium of the GBM on Friday, March 19, 2027, in Mosbach, Germany starting at 5 p.m. Information on the conference can be found on the website https://mosbacher-kolloquium.org.

Media contact:
Prof. Dr. Katharina Hieke-Kubatzky
Managing Director, GBM
+49 69 660567-12
kubatzky@gbm-online.de