French Foundation Honors Alzheimer‘s Researcher Christian Haass

DZNE scientist Christian Haass has been awarded the “Grand Prix Européen 2024”, endowed with 100,000 euros, by the “Fondation Recherche Alzheimer” for his research into the fundamental mechanisms of Alzheimer‘s disease. The France-based foundation promotes research into Alzheimer‘s and also engages in outreach activities. The award ceremony will take place in Paris in March 2025.

Christian Haass (born in 1960), a molecular biologist, is a DZNE research group leader and speaker for DZNE‘s Munich site, as well as a professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. For more than 30 years, Haass has been studying the molecular and cellular processes underlying Alzheimer‘s disease, the most common form of dementia. His research on the so-called beta-amyloid proteins, which are deposited in the brain during Alzheimer‘s disease, paved the way for novel therapeutic interventions that are now coming into application. Besides, he has made important scientific contributions with regard to the immune cells of the brain. These cells, known as „microglia“, also play relevant role in Alzheimer‘s disease.

Christian Haass has already received several awards for his research on Alzheimer’s including the „Leibniz Prize“ of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) and the “Brain Prize“, the world’s most prestigious award for brain research.

September 2024