Peter H. Seeberger, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany, has received the Emil Fischer Medal 2020 from the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh, German Chemical Society). The award is endowed with EUR 7,500 and was presented at the GDCh Wissenschaftsforum 2021 on September 1, 2021. The GDCh awards the Emil Fischer Medal for outstanding performance in the field of organic chemistry.
Peter H. Seeberger receives the award for his groundbreaking contributions to the synthesis of complex carbohydrates and the chemical biology of carbohydrates, especially through the development of automated methods. In his work, he was able to elucidate the basic mechanisms of the interaction of glycans with other biomolecules. With his syntheses, Seeberger established the field of “molecular glycobiology”, from which new types of vaccines, new cholesterol-lowering agents, diagnostics, and impulses for materials science have emerged. He has, thus, decisively influenced the development of carbohydrate-based vaccines and materials.
Peter H. Seeberger studied chemistry at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, and received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA, in 1995. After a stay as a postdoctoral researcher at the Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, New York, USA, he became Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA, in 1998. There, he was promoted to Firmenich Associate Professor of Chemistry in 2002. Starting in 2003, Seeberger served as Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and as Affiliate Professor at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla, CA, USA. Since 2009, he has headed the biomolecular systems department at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and served as Professor at the Free University of Berlin, Germany. He also serves as Honorary Professor at the University of Potsdam.
Among many other awards, Seeberger has received the Horace B. Isbell Award from the Carbohydrate Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in 2003, the Havinga Medal from Leiden University, The Netherlands, in 2007, the Körber European Science Award in 2007, the Yoshimasa Hirata Gold Medal from Nagoya University in 2007, the Claude S. Hudson Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry from the ACS in 2009, the Whistler Award from the International Carbohydrate Organisation in 2012, the Melville L. Wolfrom Award from the ACS Carbohydrate Division in 2019, and the Barry Cohen Prize from the Medicinal Chemistry Section of the Israel Chemical Society (ICS) in 2019.
Seeberger is an Honorary Lifetime Member of the ICS and was elected to the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, Germany. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry and serves on the Editorial Advisory Boards of many other journals.
Selected Publications
- Targeted Chemical Modifications Identify Key Features of Carbohydrate Assemblies and Generate Tailored Carbohydrate Materials,
Soeun Gim, Giulio Fittolani, Yang Yu, Yuntao Zhu, Peter H. Seeberger, Yu Ogawa, Martina Delbianco,
Chem. Eur. J. 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202102164 - Unveiling the Sugary Secrets of Plasmodium Parasites,
Felix Goerdeler, Peter H. Seeberger, Oren Moscovitz,
Front. Microbiol. 2021.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.712538 - In vitro efficacy of artemisinin-based treatments against SARS-CoV-2,
Yuyong Zhou, Kerry Gilmore, Santseharay Ramirez, Eva Settels, Karen A. Gammeltoft, Long V. Pham, Ulrik Fahnøe, Shan Feng, Anna Offersgaard, Jakob Trimpert, Jens Bukh, Klaus Osterrieder, Judith M. Gottwein, Peter H. Seeberger,
Sci. Rep. 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93361-y - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Flow Chemistry,
Matthew B. Plutschack, Bartholomäus Pieber, Kerry Gilmore, Peter H. Seeberger,
Chem. Rev. 2017, 117, 11796–11893.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00183 - Synthesis and medical applications of oligosaccharides,
Peter H. Seeberger, Daniel B. Werz,
Nature 2007, 446, 1046–1051.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05819 - Automated Solid-Phase Synthesis of Oligosaccharides,
Obadiah J. Plante, Emma R. Palmacci, Peter H. Seeberger,
Science 2001, 291, 1523–1527.
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1057324
Also of Interest
- Video: Using Synthesis to Understand Nature and Drive Applications
- Peter Seeberger Receives Roy Whistler Prize,
ChemistryViews 2011.
Peter Seeberger, Director of the Max-Plank Institute, Potsdam, Germany, receives prize for work on carbohydrates - Emil Fischer Medal 2018,
ChemistryViews 2018.
Thorsten Bach, Technical University Munich, Germany, honored for outstanding work in organic chemistry - Dirk Trauner Receives Emil Fischer Medal,
ChemistryViews 2016.
Outstanding work in the area of organic chemistry honored - Emil Fischer Medal 2014,
ChemistryViews 2014.
Professor Matthias Beller, Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse (LIKAT), Rostock, Germany, honored - Emil Fischer Medal for H. Waldmann,
Jonathan Faiz, ChemistryViews,
ChemistryViews 2012.
Professor Herbert Waldmann, Germany, is the recipient of the 2012 Emil Fischer Medal, awarded for work in organic chemistry - J. Mulzer: Emil Fischer Medal,
ChemistryViews 2010.
Prof. Dr. Johann Mulzer, University of Vienna, Austria, receives the 2010 Emil Fischer Medal.
