# Leibniz Prices

**Source**: https://www.cup.lmu.de/en/research/leibniz-prices/
**Parent**: https://www.cup.lmu.de/en/research/

The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize is Germany's highest academic honor. Awarded since 1985, it is financed and presented by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

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## 2018: Veit Hornung Immunology

[Veit Hornung](https://www.cup.lmu.de/en/faculty/persons/contact-page/veit-hornung-f46e3fdd.html) studies the workings of the innate immune system, the body’s first line of defense against pathogens. His research work contributes in particular to the development of therapeutic agents for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. [Portrait on DFG's website](https://www.dfg.de/en/funded_projects/prizewinners/leibniz_prize/2018/index.html#hornung "Link opens in a new window")

## 2017: Karl-Peter Hopfner Structural Biology

[Karl-Peter Hopfner](https://www.cup.lmu.de/en/faculty/persons/contact-page/karl-peter-hopfner-6441baab.html) received the Leibniz Prize for his outstanding work in structural molecular biology and genome biology, with which he has made pioneering contributions to the field of DNA repair and the cellular detection of foreign nucleic acids. [Portrait on DFG's website](https://www.dfg.de/en/funded_projects/prizewinners/leibniz_prize/2017/index.html#hopfner "Link opens in a new window")

## 2006: Patrick Cramer Biochemistry \*

[Patrick Cramer](https://www.genzentrum.uni-muenchen.de/institute/about/history/index.html "Link opens in a new window") Professor Cramer's elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of RNA polymerase II stands as a major advance in cell biology. This key enzyme is one of the largest molecular machines in the cell nucleus, and is essential for protein synthesis.

## 2004: Thomas Carell Organic Chemistry

[Thomas Carell](https://www.cup.lmu.de/en/faculty/persons/contact-page/thomas-carell-52e4024a.html) Professor Carell's work on DNA repair has potential applications in the treatment of cancer, while his research on electron transport is of crucial importance to the field of photonics. His interdisciplinary approach thus spans the spectrum from synthetic chemistry to molecular biology to medicine.

## 1997: Paul Knochel Organic Chemistry \*\*

[Paul Knochel;](https://www.cup.lmu.de/en/faculty/persons/contact-page/paul-knochel-de50a236.html) Organic Chemistry

## 1996: Wolfgang Schnick Solid State Chemistry \*\*

[Wolfgang Schnick](https://www.cup.lmu.de/en/faculty/persons/contact-page/wolfgang-schnick-7386b81e.html); Solid State Chemistry

\* Leibniz Prize winner who was at LMU when the award was announced but has since left.\
\*\* Leibniz Prize winner who had already received the award before joining the staff at LMU.

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