Science star Volker Haucke receives the Ernst Schering Prize 2025!

Science star Volker Haucke receives the Ernst Schering Prize 2025!

On September 24, 2025, the Schering Foundation announced that the Ernst Schering Prize 2025 would go to Prof. Dr. Volker Haucke is awarded. The prize, worth 50,000 euros, honors Haucke's outstanding discoveries in the field of signaling lipids, which play a crucial role in the cellular response to hormones, messenger substances and nutrients. His research, which takes place at the Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology and at the Free University of Berlin, sheds light on the complex processes of lipid signaling, whose malfunctions are linked to serious diseases such as strokes, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

The international jury, which selected Haucke from many nominations, recognized that his work not only has theoretical relevance, but also offers biomedical insights that are important for clinical applications. In his research, Haucke particularly emphasizes the role of phosphoinositides as molecular switches. These switches control the transport of cell components and messenger substances and are therefore central to neuronal signal transmission and to the general understanding of cellular communication in the brain.

Scientific discoveries and social influence

The developments that Haucke and his team have advanced include the creation of novel active ingredients that can influence not only cell division but also blood clotting. These novel approaches open up promising therapeutic options, particularly in cancer and vascular medicine.

In his comments, Prof. Max Löhning, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Schering Foundation, left no doubt about the social relevance of Haucke's discoveries. Prof. Detlev Ganten also highlighted how Haucke's research contributes to the functioning of the brain, particularly the role of signaling lipids in the formation of synapses.

For Haucke, a systems biology approach is essential to advance progress in biomedical research. He sees parallels in the cellular mechanisms of various diseases and emphasizes their common foundations.

Tradition of the Ernst Schering Prize

The Ernst Schering Prize is awarded annually by the Schering Foundation and has a long tradition of honoring outstanding scientific achievements. In recent years, the awards have gone to Nobel Prize winners such as Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Svante Pääbo, among others.

The notable award winners in recent years include:

• Maiken Nedergaard (2024) für die Entdeckung des glymphatischen Systems
• Matthias Tschöp (2023) für die Aufklärung der Signalwege des Hungerhormons
• Gisbert Schneider (2022) für seine Arbeiten im Moleküldesign und der KI-unterstützten Arzneistoffentwicklung
• Aviv Regev (2021) für ihre Forschungsbeiträge zur Einzelzellanalyse
• Jens Claus Brüning (2020) für seine Studien zur Insulinresistenz

The award ceremony will take place on November 24, 2025 in Berlin, where Haucke will be honored for his significant contributions to medical science. This award is not only a personal honor for the scientist, but also a signal of the importance of his research direction for the future of medicine.

Further information can be found on the websites of Schering Foundation as well as the Free University of Berlin.