EMBO Award for Communication in the Life Sciences 2003 goes to Hungarian scientist

Peter Csermely (45) is this year’s winner of the EMBO Award for Communication in the Life Sciences. The Award recognises this scientist for his outstanding initiative to network high school students and researchers in Hungary.

The prize, consisting of Euro 5.000 and a handcrafted silver and gold medal, will be awarded on November 14th 2003 during the EMBO/EMBL joint conference on Science and Society, „Genetics, determinism and human freedom“ in Heidelberg, Germany. Csermely is Professor for Biochemistry at the Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary.

The international jury’ which comprises the EMBO Science and Society Committee’ applauded Csermely for his extensive engagement in setting up networks of scientists and high school students. When told of the jury’s decision, Peter Csermely said: „I am extremely happy to receive this award, which is a great honour. I do not regard it, however, as a personal achievement. The multinational network to promote high school student research that we established in the recent years reflects the devotion of hundreds of scientists and teachers as well as the enthusiasm of dozens of student helpers who did their best to organize the network as volunteers. To work with these exceptional people gave me a lot of strength and joy. The award will give us a great opportunity to draw attention to the importance of scientific research during high school studies.“

The initiative that Csermely and colleagues have started has offered more than 7000 students from Hungary and other Eastern European Countries an opportunity to do research in various scientific institutes. The project, which is also accompanied by scientific conferences and courses, has run successfully for seven years. Furthermore, it has sparked the interest in science for many young students, helping them to get into the best colleges and universities.

EMBO, the European Molecular Biology Organization, based in Heidelberg, Germany, launched the Award for Communication in the Life Sciences in 2002 in order to give recognition to the huge efforts that some scientists make in order to communicate their science to the public while remaining fully active in research. Candidates are practicing life scientists working in Europe, who have made an outstanding contribution to the public communication of science via any medium and activity. Peter Csermely is the second winner of this award after Ronald Plasterk from the Netherlands.

Contact:

EMBO
Andrew Moore (PhD)
Science & Society Programme Manager
Postfach 102240, D-69012 Heidelberg
Tel. +49 (0)6221-8891-109, Fax. -209
andrew.moore@embo.org