The winner of this year’s Eden’s Prize is Dr. rer. nat. Sofia Urner.  Sofia was awarded this prize in recognition for her exceptional scientific work in the field of circulation research.  She investigated how lymphatic vessel growth is regulated. The lymphatic vasculature is an import part of the circulatory system responsible for establishment of the body’s fluid homeostasis, immune response and uptake of lipids. Her work contributes to a better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms that are involved in limiting an uncontrolled, excessive growth of lymphatic vessels, which is often associated with pathological developments and diseases. Her work “Identification of ILK as a critical regulator of VEGFR3 signaling and lymphatic vascular growth” was published in “The EMBO Journal” in 2019.

Sofia completed her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Dr. E. Lammert (Institute of Metabolic Physiology) within the International Research Training Group 1902 (IRTG 1902) in 2018.  She is now working as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the German Diabetes Center (DDZ).  The Eden’s Prize has been set up to support young scientists at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. It carries a monetary award of 10,000 Euro. The board of trustees of the Eberhard Igler Foundation, on recommendation from a prize jury committee, decide who will receive the award each year. The award ceremony took place on June 24, 2020.  The IRTG 1902 congratulates Sofia on her Eden’s Prize!