Science - Hamburg - Beckerts Prize goes to researcher Vasilis Natziakristos

HAMBURG (DPA) — Thanks to him, there is an entirely new type of ultrasound tomography: for research into this unique technology for diagnosing cancer or cardiovascular diseases, Munich-based Vasilis Ntziachristos was presented Monday with the Karl-Heinz Beckerts Prize in Hamburg. With this is 2021. With this pioneering work in the field of biomedical imaging, the chances of many people recovering may also increase, announced the foundation of the same name on Monday. The renowned research prize is endowed with 30,000 Euros.

In particular, Ntziachristos’ research is about the so-called multispectral optoacoustic tomography technique, which works with laser light and ultrasound – that is, with optical and acoustic imaging. The jury rated the work as “groundbreaking”. Ntziachristos is head of the Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and a professor at the Technical University of Munich.

The Karl Heinz Beckerts Foundation also awarded the Medal of Honor for the first time. They are associated with mRNA vaccine pioneers Uur Sahin and Dr. Dr. Ingmar Horr, founder of Ozlem Turesi (BioNtech) and CureVac. “What has happened in mRNA vaccine research in Germany alone is spectacular and we are delighted to honor such outstanding researchers as Usur ahin, zlem Türeci and Ingmar Hoerr. They not only have a great sense of research, but courageous entrepreneurship has also been proven”, said Christian Stegmann, the foundation’s president, according to the announcement. “We will probably be able to assess in the future all the dimensions of how your work impacts humanity. But we already know today that you have shown the whole world the way out of the pandemic.”

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The prize is dedicated to the German physicist and manager Karl Heinz Beckerts (1930–1986) and has been awarded since 1989 by the foundation of the same name for outstanding scientific and technological achievements that also become economically significant.