Max Planck Prizes for MPIMG scientists
Congratulations to group leader Zack Smith on the Hermann Neuhaus Prize 2025 and to postdoc Sara Hetzel who receives the Otto Hahn Medal. These prizes recognize their work on different aspects of epigenetic regulation in early development and cancer.
Zachary Smith receives the Hermann Neuhaus Prize 2025
MPIMG research group leader Dr. Zachary Smith is this year’s winner of the Hermann Neuhaus Prize. Smith and his team investigate epigenetic regulation during development. Their goal is to develop and apply new technologies to study embryonic development at the highest possible resolution – whether at the level of single cells or individual genes – and to connect these observations to the organism as a whole. Research topics in the lab include fertilization, embryo implantation, placental development, and epigenetic control of early organogeneis. The lab’s research has the potential to address major issues in human health, ranging from early developmental drivers of adverse pregnancy outcomes and birth defects to the epigenetic origins of cancer.
Zachary Smith received his BS in Biology from MIT in 2008 and later worked with MPIMG director Alexander Meissner at Harvard. After obtaining his PhD in 2019, he joined the Yale Stem Cell Center and the Department of Genetics as an Assistant Professor in September 2020. He became a group leader at the MPIMG on December 1, 2024.
Sara Hetzel awarded the Otto Hahn Medal
This year, bioinformatician Dr. Sara Hetzel has been honored with the Otto Hahn Medal. Currently a postdoctoral researcher in Helene Kretzmer’s research group (now based at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam), Hetzel received the award for her work on DNA methylation, an important epigenetic modification. She developed a bioinformatics tool to efficiently analyze methylation heterogeneity in cancer cells using sequencing data. In a complementary line of research, she analyzed epigenetic differences between cultured cancer cell lines and cancer cells from the human body, identifying two main DNA methylation patterns that correlate with the original cancer type. Her findings emphasize the complexity and importance of understanding methylation patterns in cancer research and open new avenues for studying epigenetic phenomena in cancer.
Sara Hetzel grew up in Berlin and studied Bioinformatics at Freie Universität. In 2018, she joined Alexander Meissner’s lab at the MPIMG. She completed her PhD summa cum laude in 2023 and is now a postdoc at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany.
About the Otto Hahn Medal
Since 1978, the Max Planck Society (MPG) has awarded the Otto Hahn Medal to up to 30 young scientists each year in recognition of outstanding scientific achievements. The award aims to encourage recipients to pursue their professional goals with continued dedication. Nominees must have earned top grades and completed their doctorate in the current or previous year. Typically, the scientific work on which the nomination is based must have been completed before the candidate turns 30. The Otto Hahn Medal is presented at the MPG’s annual meeting.
About the Herrmann Neuhaus Prize
Launched in 2018, the Hermann Neuhaus Prize honors outstanding postdocs and research group leaders at Max Planck Institutes whose work shows potential for broader application. The prize is awarded by the Max Planck Society (MPG) and funded by the Max Planck Foundation (MPF) in memory of the entrepreneur Hermann Neuhaus. Recipients receive 25,000 euros in prize money.
