Corporate Magazine 2012 - Boehringer Ingelheim

corporate responsibilityperspectives for society3 Ilka Diester won the Boehringer Ingelheim’sFENS Award 2012 for exceptional research inNeuroscience.3California at Berkeley, received theHeinrich Wieland Prize 2012 forher research on the biological functionsof cellular sugars, especiallythe sugar modifications associatedwith cancer, inflammation and infection.She focuses on glycans, a groupof sugar chains fulfilling vital functionsin humans and other livingbeings.Her novel methodological design,bio orthogonal chemistry, helps todifferentiate healthy from diseasedcells by monitoring their sugar codes,thereby tracking tumor developmentand growth. She alters the respectivesugar codes by uniquely attachingso-called bioorthogonal reporters orlabels.These small molecules are chemicallysynthesized and then specifically insertedinto different classes of glycansby the cell itself. These bioorthogonalbiomarkers have led to a new technologyfor the development of novelprotein drugs.The chemist’s breakthrough methodcan pave the way for new therapies,e.g. against cancer.FENS Award 2012In 2012, Dr Ilka Diester of StanfordUniversity’s Department of Bioengineeringwas honoured with the FENSAward for her research into the neuralmechanisms that are used to controlmovements, particularly the differencesin neural connectivity thatexist between various species ofmammals.The work of the scientist uses optogenetics– a novel method using geneticand optical techniques – to investigatecomplex behaviours in rodentsand rhesus monkeys to dissect theneural circuits underlying movements.Diester’s work could contribute torevolutionising the understanding ofthe complexities of the mind andpropel forward medical developments.Nerve cells (neurons) are responsiblefor passing information aroundthe central nervous system (CNS)and from the CNS to the rest of thebody. This information is transmittedas electrical impulses. A nervecell comprises a central nerve cellbody surrounded by numerous extensions.Outstanding basic research 29