Proteomics focuses on decoding the proteome, which refers to the entirety of proteins in a pre-defined unit, such as a cell or even a human being. The scientific discipline has come to be regarded as “the foundation of the personalized medicine of tomorrow”, as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and University of Zurich (UZH) write in a jointly issued press release. Ruedi Aebersold, who worked as a professor of molecular systems biology at both the ETH and UZH, is now to be awarded the Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist for his role in founding and further advancing the field of proteomics.
The Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist, which comes with a check for 250,000 Swiss francs, has been awarded since 1920 “for outstanding research relevant to human life”. Aebersold is the 100th winner of the prize, and will be presented with his award on November 4. “We are delighted by the cooperation with the Fondation Latsis and the first joint awarding of the two prizes. In doing so, we are enhancing Switzerland’s standing as a location for scientific research”, comments Guy Parmelin, Member of the Federal Council, the Swiss Federal government, and President of the Marcel Benoist Foundation by virtue of his office.
Aebersold has been an emeritus professor since the start of 2020, but is continuing to conduct research: “Receiving the Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist is a great honor for me and my wonderful team”, he stated, before adding: “It also honors the importance of international collaboration between researchers and the open exchange of measurement data – both of which are fundamental to the success of proteomics and to scientific progress more generally”.
Aebersold’s research work has also paved the way towards the founding of a handful of companies, for example Biognosys and Proteomedix, both of which are based in Schlieren in the canton of Zurich.
