Prof. Dr. Anne Spang (Biozentrum, University of Basel) will receive the Lelio Orci Award 2024 for her pioneering work in intracellular organization.
The award was established by Lelio Orci, Emeritus Professor at the University of Geneva (Faculty of Medicine) in 2015. Its objective has been to honour an outstanding scientist for her/his research achievements in Cell Biology.
The late Lelio Orci would have been undoubtedly pleased with Prof. Spang’s rigorous pursuit of knowledge and novel discoveries regarding compartmentalization of cellular organelles, proteins, and mRNA. The Lelio Orci Award jury also greatly appreciated her ambition to study these processes under various conditions and in multiple organisms.
Dr. Anne Spang received her training in chemical engineering and biochemistry in Germany and France. She obtained her PhD in the group of Elmar Schiebel at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry (Germany) and then joined the lab of Randy Schekman at UC Berkeley (USA) as a postdoctoral researcher. She returned to Germany in 1999 to become an independent group leader at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society. She obtained a professorship at the University of Basel, Biozentrum in 2005 and was elected as an EMBO member in 2009, an ASCB Fellow in 2020, and a member of the German National Academy of Science, Leopoldina in 2021.
Anne’s work interconnects biochemistry, genetics, and molecular, cell, and developmental biology. Her research focuses on how intracellular traffic and RNA localization, translation, and metabolism regulate cellular asymmetry and stress responses.
The award lecture titled “Mechanisms of Intracellular Compartmentalization” will take place during the LS2 Annual Meeting 2025. Please join us on February 12th at 09:45 to celebrate Anne’s achievements!
Congratulations Anne!
We are delighted to announce that Dr. Claudia Keller Valsecchi (Institute of Molecular Biology, Mainz, DE) and Prof. Dr. Li Tang (EPFL) will be awarded the Friedrich Miescher Award 2025 for their outstanding achievements in biochemistry.
Dr. Claudia Keller Valsecchi completed her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a focus on molecular biology at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel. She moved on to Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) in Basel, where she first received her MSc and then a PhD in Biochemistry, specializing in epigenetic gene regulation and chromatin. She then joined the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg as a postdoc, supported by the Human Frontier Science Program fellowship. She has headed a research group at the IMB in Mainz since May 2020 and will join Biozentrum at the University of Basel as an Assistant Professor in August 2025. Her research focuses on sex chromosomes and gene dose changes. Her team works on the molecular processes that ensure the “equality” of the maternal and paternal genomes and examines their role in evolution and human diseases. | ![]() |
Prof. Dr. Li Tang received his B.S. in Chemistry from Peking University, China, in 2007 and his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, in 2012, under the supervision of Prof. Jianjun Cheng. Afterward, he became a CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Darrell Irvine at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2016, he joined the Institutes of Bioengineering and Materials Science & Engineering at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, as a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, with promotion to Associate Professor in 2022. His research focuses on developing multidimensional immunoengineering approaches for enhanced cancer immunotherapies. Dr. Tang is the recipient of multiple international research prizes, the most recent being the CAB Mid-Career Investigator Award (2024), the Biomaterials Award for Young Investigators (2024), and the European Research Council (ERC) starting grant (2018). He was also named in the MIT Technology Review’s "Top 35 Innovators under Age 35" list of China region (2020). |
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In the name of the entire LS2 jury committee, we congratulate Dr. Claudia Keller Valsecchi and Prof. Dr. Li Tang for receiving this prestigious award!
The award ceremony and lectures titled "Epigenetics of Sex Differences" and "Type 2 Immunity May Hold Key to Long-Term Cancer Remission" will take place during the LS2 Annual Meeting 2025 on Thursday, February 13th, from 16:10 on.
Please join us in congratulating the awardees!
We are very happy to open the call for the Friedrich Miescher Award 2026.
This award is intended to honour young biochemists (under 40) for outstanding achievements in biochemistry.
The deadline for nominations is October 31st, 2025.
Download the PDF below for more details.
We are opening the call for nominations for the Lelio Orci Award 2025, one of the most prestigious prizes in the life sciences in Switzerland.
Please enter your nominations HERE. You will have to provide: the ORCID ID of the nominee, a brief biosketch (max 1000 char.), a justification for nomination (e.g., novel contributions and impact on their field), a short description of major achievements (max 1500 char.), and a list of 3-5 most important publications (max 1500 char.).
The deadline to nominate is August 10, 2025.
All details are in the attached PDF.
Criteria for the Young Investigator Award participation
General
- Only members of the LS2 section Physiology may participate in the contest.
- Participants shall be employed in Switzerland.
- In the registration form for the Annual Physiology Meeting, you may indicate which format you prefer, poster or oral presentation. Due to organizational constraints, your presentation may be scheduled for a different format, but your wishes will be followed whenever possible.
Abstract Content
- The abstract should be understandable for non-specialists.
- General physiological relevance of the work should be emphasized.
- Methods should be discussed only where required for understanding the work.
Participants in the Young Investigator Award should register for the meeting prior to abstract submission.
Assessment
- Each abstract will be read by the jury members which will attribute 0-10 points. Eight abstracts with the highest mean number of points will be selected for oral presentation.
- The number of points attributed for the abstract will count as 50 % for the final score.
- The average mark based on the criteria for oral presentation (see below) brings another 50 % to the final score.
Presentation
1. Poster: A 3 min blitz presentation (including discussion) will be given for the full audience (Power point). The posters can be visited during the lunch break.
2. Oral presentation: Duration: 10 min presentation + 5 min discussion.
Criteria that will be taken in consideration by the jury: Quality of content, Systematics of the presentation, Clarity of expression, Respect for time limits, Communication skills with the audience, Quality of slides / tables / graphs, Quality of replies to questions.
Prizes (as on January 2025)
- 1st prize Oral presentation, PhD student
- 1st prize Oral presentation, junior postdoc
- 2st prize Oral presentation, PhD student
- 2st prize Oral presentation, junior postdoc
- Best poster, PhD student
- Best poster, junior postdoc
The final number of prizes and categories will be reviewed every year by the "Stiftung für Physiologie" and it will be announced on the LS2 Physiology Meeting of the corresponding year.
* We will take your academic net age into account according to SNSF guidelines (More information HERE)
The Lelio Orci Award is awarded by the Lelio Orci Fund, hosted by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva. It is administered through Life Sciences Switzerland LS2. It is awarded annually to a scientist who has achieved an outstanding performance in fundamental cellular biology. The prize is named in honour of Lelio Orci, who has been an emeritus professor at the University of Geneva.
Criteria - The prize is awarded annually to a scientist who has achieved an outstanding performance in fundamental cellular biology, and who has led his/her work independently. The selection of the laureate is independent of nationality and age. He/she must have conducted a significant proportion of the work at a Swiss research institution and thus have contributed to the advancement of Swiss Life Sciences.
The originality and impact of the work is determined by:
• High-quality rigorous publications (publications in high Impact Factor journals is NOT a criterion)
• Original and novel contributions to the field
• Independence of work and ideas
• Importance of work for future development in the field of research
Nominations - Each year during the call, please enter your nominations HERE. You will have to provide: the ORCID ID of the nominee, a brief biosketch (max 1000 char.), a justification for nomination (e.g., novel contributions and impact on their field), a short description of major achievements (max 1500 char.), and a list of 3-5 most important publications (max 1500 char.).
Jury - The Jury selects the laureate and proposes him/her to the Lelio Orci Fund Committee. The Jury is constituted by LS2 and includes: the past-president, vice-president and president of LS2; Pierre Cosson, professor at the Geneva Faculty of Medicine, personally appointed member of the Lelio Orci Fund Committee; one additional delegate of the Geneva Faculty of Medicine; at least 3 representatives from other Swiss Academic and Research Institutions.
List of Awardees:
2024: Prof. Anne Spang (Biozentrum, University of Basel)
2023: Prof. Wanda Kukulski (IBMM, University of Bern)
2022: Prof. Susan M. Gasser (ISREC Foundation)
2021: Prof. Markus Rüegg (Biozentrum Basel)
2020: Prof. Jean Gruenberg (University of Geneva)
2019: Prof. Silvia Arber (Biozentrum and FMI Basel)
2018: Prof. Jean-Claude Martinou (UNIGE)
2017: Prof. Mike Hall (Biozentrum Basel)
2016: Prof. Markus Aebi (ETHZ)
2015: Prof. Gisou van der Goot (EPFL)
The official award ceremony takes place during the LS2 Annual Meeting.
The following guidelines apply for nominations:
1. The Friedrich Miescher Award may be awarded once every year to a young scientist for outstanding achievements in biochemistry.
2. Candidates are eligible who have not yet reached the age of 40 years on January 1st of the award year.
For female candidates with children, the age limit is automatically extended by one year per child. For male candidates with children, the age limit can be extended by 6 weeks per child, or the actual time taken off as parental leave if this is longer than 6 weeks. The maximal extension for men is 6 months.
3. Preference will be given to candidates with a documented record of independent research.
4. The scientific work must have been carried out in Switzerland or by Swiss scientists abroad.
5. Health care professionals ("HCP") are not eligible for the award.
Applications or nominations, including a letter stating the relevance of the candidate's scientific work, his/her CV, list of publication and embedded links to the four most relevant publications should be submitted as a single PDF file by October 31, 2025 by e-mail to Prof. Dr. Monica Gotta [Monica.Gotta@unige.ch], at the Molecular & Cellular Biosciences section of LS2. The official award ceremony takes place during the LS2 Annual Meeting.
List of previous Awardees:
2025 Dr. Claudia Keller Valsecchi (Institute of Molecular Biology, Mainz, DE) and Prof. Dr. Li Tang (EPFL)
2024 Prof. Charlotte Aumeier University of Geneva
2023 Prof. Barbara Treutlein ETH Zurich
2022 Prof. Paul Guichard University of Geneva
2021 Prof. Prisca Liberali FMI Basel and Prof. Andrea Ablasser EPFL
2020 Prof. Greta Guarda IRB, Università della Svizzera italiana, USI and Prof. Nicola Aceto University of Basel
2019 Prof. Bernd Bodenmiller UZH
2018 Prof. Marek BASLER Biozentrum Basel and Prof. Paola PICOTTI ETHZ
2017 Prof. Petr CEJKA IRB Bellinzona
2016 Prof. Petr BROZ Biozentrum, University of Basel
2015 Prof. Martin JINEK Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich
2014 Prof. Sophie MARTIN Département de microbiologie fondamentale, Université de Lausanne
2013 Prof. Aurélien ROUX Department of Biochemistry, University of Geneva
2012 Prof. Richard BENTON Universität Lausanne, Center for Integrative Genomics
2011 Prof. Marc BÜHLER Friedrich-Miescher Institut, Basel
2010 Prof. Henrik KAESSMANN Universität Lausanne, Center for Integrative Genomics
2009 Prof. Teresa FITZPATRICK Universität Genf
2008 Prof. Sylvia ARBER Biozentrum der Universität Basel and Friedrich Miescher Institut
2007 Dr. Dirk SCHÜBELER Friedrich-Miescher Institut, Basel
2006 Dr. Andreas MAYER and Dr. Maurizio MOLINARI Istituto di Ricerca in Biomedicina (IRB), Bellinzona; Friedrich Miescher Institut (FMI), Basel
2005 Prof. Nenad BAN Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Swiss Institute of Technology, Zürich
2004 Prof. Freddy RADTKE Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Epalinges s/Lausanne
2003 Prof. Michael O. HENGARTNER Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Zürich
2002 Dr. Jean PIETERS together with Dr. Joachim LINGNER Basel Institute for Immunology; ISREC, Epalinges s/Lausanne
2001 Dr. Wilhelm KREK Friedrich Miescher Institut, Basel
2000 No prize awarded
1999 Dr. Elisa IZZAURALDE European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg/Germany
1998 Dr. Bruno AMATI ISREC, Epalinges s/Lausanne
1997 Dr. Andreas STRASSER Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, Australia
1996 Dr. Konrad BASLER Zoologisches Institut der Universität Zürich
1995 Dr. Bernard THORENS Institut de Pharmacologie et de Toxicologie, Université de Lausanne
1994 Dr. Susan GASSER-WILSON ISREC, Epalinges s/Lausanne
1993 Dr. Amos BAIROCH Institut de Biochimie Médicale, Université de Genève
1992 Dr. Erich NIGG Institut Suisse de Recherches Expérimentales sur le Cancer, Epalinges s/Lausanne
1991 Prof. Dr. Ernst HAFEN Zoologisches Institut der Universität Zürich
1990 Prof. Dr. Marianne BIENZ Zoologisches Institut der Universität Zürich
1989 PD Dr. Werner BRAUN Institut für Molekularbiologie und Biophysik, ETH Zürich
1988 Prof. Gregor EICHELE Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
1987 No prize awarded
1986 Prof. Jürg TSCHOPP Institut de Biochimie, Université de Lausanne
1985 No prize awarded
1984 Dr. Philippe HALBAN Institut de Biochimie Clinique, Université de Genève
1983 Dr. Ueli SCHIBLER and Dr. Otto HAGENBÜCHLE Institut Suisse de Recherches Expérimentales sur le Cancer, Epalinges s/Lausanne
1982 Prof. J.H. MILLER Département de Biologie Moléculaire, Université de Genève
1981 Dr. Jörg STUCKI Pharmakologisches Institut der Universität Bern
1980 Dr. Jean-David ROCHAIX Département de Biologie Moléculaire, Université de Genève
1979 Dr. Markus BRETSCHER and Dr. Albert HINNEN MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK Friedrich-Miescher-Institut, Basel
1978 Dr. Markus NOLL Biozentrum der Universität Basel
1977 Dr. Bernard FULPIUS Département de Pathologie, Université de Genève
1976 Dr. Heidi DIGGELMANN Institut Suisse de Recherches Expérimentales sur le Cancer, Epalinges s/Lausanne
1975 Dr. Jörg ROSENBUSCH Biozentrum der Universität Basel
1974 Dr. Kurt WÜTHRICH Institut für Molekularbiologie und Biophysik der ETH Zürich
1973 Dr. Kaspar WINTERHALTER Friedrich-Miescher-Institut, Basel
1972 Dr. Michel VALLOTTON Laboratoire d’Investigation Clinique, Division d’Endocrinologie, Hôpital de Genève
1971 Dr. Martin BILLETER Institut für Molekularbiologie I der Universität Zürich
1970 Dr. Philipp CHRISTEN and Dr. Jean-Pierre von WARTBURG Biochemisches Institut der Universität Zürich Medizinisch-Chemisches Institut der Universität Bern
Full Regulations of LS2 Awards can be found in LS2 Bylaws and Regulations here.
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