The Academia Europaea (AE) Sydney Brenner Medal (SBM) has been established in 2022 by the Class of Life Sciences (Class C) in memory of one of the founding members of the Academy - Sydney Brenner.




The Sydney Brenner Medal honours the best in scholarship and personal achievements within a period of not more than 20 years after obtaining the PhD degree (with allowance for career breaks) by an individual scholar, working in the field of molecular biology and related disciplines.

The Academia Europaea (AE) Sydney Brenner Medal (SBM) is a Medal established by the Class of Life Sciences (Class C) of AE during the 2022 Annual Meeting. It has been created in recognition of the substantial contribution to science of one of the founding members of the Academy - Sydney Brenner.

The search and evaluation committee consists of the Chair of Class C. Plus, the Section Chairs of Class C, the initiators of the Medal (John Wong MAE and Balázs Gulyás MAE) and Byrappa Venkatesh (SG), Sir Keith Peters MAE (UK), Michael Hayden (CA) and Philip Goelet (US).

The first Sydney Brenner Medal call was announced in 2023 and Professor Eugene YEO was awarded for his achievements in the Life Sciences.

Further individual donations in support of the “Sydney Brenner Medal” are welcome. Donors names will be included in a list of sponsors. Please contact the London office for details of how to make a donation.

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The medal is given to honour the best in scholarship and personal achievements within a period of not more than 20 years after obtaining the PhD degree (with allowance for career breaks). The award is given to an individual scholar in the field of molecular biology and related disciplines. The Medal is awarded at the Annual Conference of the Academy and on that occasion the recipient will deliver a ‘Sydney Brenner’ lecture.

The Academia Europaea Sydney Brenner Medal was established in 2022 to commemorate Sydney Brenner, one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century and one of the founding members of the Academia Europaea.

Professor Ralser will receive the medal and will deliver the accompanying lecture at the annual conference of the Academia Europaea, Munich, on October 16th, 2025.

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Brenner Medal Citation#

Professor Dr Markus Raiser has been awarded the 2025 Brenner medal in recognition of his transformative contributions to the field of biochemistry, contributions that profoundly embody the pioneering spirit and scientific vision of Sydney Brenner.

Professor Raiser is internationally regarded as one of the leading scientists in the field of cellular metabolism. He currently leads the Department of Biochemistry at Europe's largest Medical University and acts as Chief Scientific Officer of the Start Up company Eliptica. Ltd. His work has led to fundamental discoveries that have reshaped our understanding of how metabolic networks function, evolve, and regulate life at the molecular level. In the finest tradition of Brenner's legacy, Raiser's research combines conceptual clarity with technological innovation, producing insights of both theoretical depth and practical relevance.

Among his most seminal achievements is the discovery of self-regulating metabolic pathways - a mechanism through which cells rapidly respond to stress via direct chemical modification of enzymes, bypassing slower signalling cascades. This paradigm-shifting insight has profound implications for understanding cellular adaptation, microbial resistance, and cancer biology. Equally remarkable is Raiser's work on evolution of metabolism This work not only advances the field of evolutionary biochemistry but also reopens foundational questions about the origins of life - a subject of enduring fascination for Sydney Brenner. Many of Raiser's achievements stem from his pioneering the integration of biological data science, functional metabolomics and proteomics with systems biology. His ability to unite high-throughput experimentation with mechanistic insight has enabled a new generation of clinical tools and diagnostic approaches, reflecting a commitment to both discovery and application.

In every respect, Prof. Markus Raiser exemplifies the values that defined Sydney Brenner's legacy: bold inquiry, methodological rigor, cross-disciplinary synthesis, and a relentless drive to answer biology's most fundamental questions. For these reasons, and for his outstanding contributions to biochemistry, molecular biology, and evolutionary science, the Board of trustees of the Academia Europaea are pleased to record Markus Raiser as a most deserving recipient of the Sydney Brenner Medal.

General biography

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Short synopsis#

• 2018 Einstein Professor of Biochemistry, Head of Department, Charitė University Medicine, Berlin, Germany
• 2015 Group leader, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
• 2013 Group leader, Medical Research Council National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK
• 2011 Group leader, Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, UK
• 2007 Junior group leader, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Germany
• 2006 PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of Salzburg Austria, and Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Germany

Markus was born in South Tyrol (Italy), he studied Genetics and Molecular Biology in Salzburg (Austria), and completed a PhD in neurodegenerative disorders at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin (Germany). After being trained in mass spectrometry at VU Amsterdam (Netherlands), he started a Junior group at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, which he eventually moved to the University of Cambridge (UK) in 2011. Markus then has been a group leader at the Francis Crick Institute, London since 2013. In 2018, he became Einstein Professor of Biochemistry, and is a Head of Biochemistry here at the Charitè University Medicine (the joint medical faculty of Humboldt and Free state Universities in Berlin, Germany).

Laudator#

Professor Kathryn S. Lilley MAE (University of Cambridge) will give the laudation at the award ceremony.

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Past winners#

2023 Winner Eugene W. Yeo#

Eugene Yeo PhD MBA is a Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), a founding member of the Institute for Genomic Medicine and member of the UCSD Stem Cell Program and Moores Cancer Center. Dr. Yeo has a BSc in Chemical Engineering and a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, a Ph.D. in Computational Neuroscience from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the UCSD Rady School of Management.

Dr. Yeo’s research interest is in understanding and manipulating RNA processing in development and disease using induced pluripotent stem cell and murine models. His lab demonstrated in vivo RNA targeting with CRISPR/Cas proteins with proof of concept in repeat expansion disorders. His lab developed enhanced CLIP for the purposes of large-scale mapping of protein-RNA interactions. His lab is an active participant in RNA genomics technology and therapeutics development.

Dr. Yeo is on the Editorial Boards of the journals Cell Reports and Cell Research. Dr. Yeo is a recipient of Alfred P Sloan Fellowship in recognition of his work in computational molecular biology (2011) and the inaugural Early Career Award from the International RNA Society (2017). Dr. Yeo was a recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew Graduate Scholarship (2000), National Research Foundation Visiting Investigatorship Award (2017), a Blavatnik National Finalist (2018 & 2019) and Xconomy Award Winner for ‘Big Idea’ (2019). Gene is a co-founder of several biotech companies including Locana, Eclipse Bioinnovations, Enzerna and Proteona. Gene serves or had served on the scientific advisory boards of the Allen Institute of Immunology, Locana, Eclipse Bioinnovations, Proteona, Aquinnah, LGC, Nugen and Ribometrix.

For more information please see this document

Read an interview with Professor Eugene Yeo, the inaugural recipient of the Academia Europaea Sydney Brenner Medal.