Claudia Höbartner receives the Albrecht Kossel Prize for her pioneering work on catalytic nucleic acids

The German Chemical Society (GDCh) has awarded Claudia Höbartner the Albrecht Kossel Prize: GDCh President Prof. Dr Ruth Bieringer presented the prize at the GDCh Biochemistry 2026 conference held in Würzburg from 16 to 18 March, and paid tribute to Claudia’s outstanding scientific achievements. In her laudatory speech, Prof. Dr Andrea Rentmeister painted a vivid picture of the award winner’s scientific passion and pioneering spirit.

Claudia was honoured for two groundbreaking discoveries in the field of catalytic nucleic acids – that is, DNA and RNA molecules with enzymatic function. Firstly, she succeeded in determining the structure of a DNAzyme for the first time worldwide, a scientific breakthrough that opened up new insights into molecular catalytic mechanisms and unlocked a wide range of potential applications. Secondly, she identified a ribozyme with methyltransferase activity, i.e. with the ability to transfer methyl groups – a property of great significance for research into the origins of life and with far-reaching implications for synthetic biology. Both studies were published in the journal Nature and brought international prominence to the field of research.

The Albrecht Kossel Prize was established in 2012 and awarded for the first time in 2014. It commemorates Ludwig Karl Martin Leonhard Albrecht Kossel (1853–1927), a German biochemist, physician and physiologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1910 for his work on the study of the cell nucleus and the isolation and structural determination of nucleic acids.

The German Chemical Society (GDCh) is one of the largest chemical societies in the world and brings together around 28,000 members across 33 specialist divisions.

Further information: https://www.gdch.de/