TEHRAN –The 6th Kazemi Prize - a major scientific award in recognition of the late Saeid Kazemi Ashtiani’s efforts in the field of stem cells - has been awarded to two prominent scientists from Germany and Austria.

Professor Thomas Braun from Germany, and Nicholas Rivron from Austria, will officially receive the prize on August 28 at the 25th Congress on Reproductive Biomedicine which will be held at Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran.

Kazemi Prize was established in 2010 to respect the efforts and revive the memories of Kazemi Ashtiani, the late founder of the Royan Institute.

Kazemi established the Royan Institute in 1991. This institute renders advanced medical services to infertile couples. The center is also one of the most important and active research centers in Reproductive Biomedicine and Stem Cell Technology in West Asia. Kazemi and his colleagues at the Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology achieved a breakthrough in 2003 by establishing the first human embryonic stem cell line in the region.

In 2010, the first Kazemi Prize was awarded to Professor Rudolf Jaenisch, one of the most innovative and creative scientists in the field of developmental biology, gene regulation, stem cell biology, and stem cell therapies.

In 2011, the second Kazemi Prize was awarded to Prof. Hans Robert Schöler a world-renowned researcher who has made significant contributions to the field of stem cell biology over the past 40 years.

The third Kazemi Prize was awarded to Prof. Robert S. Langer, one of the most important individuals in biotechnology in the world and one of the best innovators worldwide.

In 2016, the fourth Kazemi Prize was awarded to Professor Hans Clevers, a geneticist, physician, medical researcher, and professor in molecular genetics who was the first to identify stem cells in the intestine and one of the world’s leading researchers on stem cells and their potential for regenerative therapy.

In 2018 the fifth Kazemi Prize was awarded to Professor Michele De Luca; the full professor of biochemistry, the director of the Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and the scientific director of Holostem Terapie Avanzate S.r.l.

He has reported lifesaving regeneration of the entire human epidermis of a Junctional EB patient by means of transgenic epidermal stem cells.

Professor Braun is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research.

He holds a PhD in Cellular Biochemistry. He became a full professor at the University of Halle-Wittenberg.

From 1998 to 2000, he was director of the physiology department.

In 2004, he was elected as director of the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim, Department.

His current focus is on molecular research of cardiac and skeletal muscle development, stem cells, and development of contractile tissue, as well as aging and adaptation of the cardiovascular system. His research group uses a wide range of advanced technologies to pursue research goals.

Professor Braun is also a lecturer at the International Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, jointly hosted by the Max Planck Institute and the Universities of Giessen and Frankfurt.

He has published over 200 papers in leading international journals.

Nicolas Rivron is a principal investigator at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Austrian Academy of Science in Austria.

Stem cell-based embryo models have emerged as powerful scientific and ethical alternatives to the use of embryos in research.

Rivron led the development of the first complete embryo model. It reflects the blastocyst in mice (2018, Nature) and humans (2021, Nature) and is named blastoid. Blastoids are unique in two respects: they are complete, and they represent the pre-implantation stage thereby enabling implantation in utero and ultimately the study of all subsequent stages (e.g. gastrulation, organogenesis).

Rivron is co-founder of dawn-bio, a biotech company that leverages blastoids for human reproductive medicine.

He is contributing to drawing a roadmap for the gradual, justifiable use of embryo models, and for the dissemination of a sensible, accurate picture of contemporary human embryology that aims to maximize public support and societal benefit.

MT/MG