Maria Leptin investigates molecular mechanisms in embryonic development. In other words, she studies the processes by which individual cells develop into a complex multicellular organism. She is particularly well known for her work on the developmental biology of the fruit fly Drosophila. In this context, she examined the formation of complex cell shapes in the respiratory system, studied the development of the tracheal network, and identified the proteins involved. Such proteins also play a role in tissue and organ formation in vertebrates. Alongside her outstanding research achievements, Maria Leptin has assumed a leading role in promoting excellence in European research. In 2010, she became the first woman to be elected Director of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO). Since 2021, she has served as President of the ERC and, in this capacity, also chairs the ERC Scientific Council.
In addition to the Leopoldina, Maria Leptin is a member of Academia Europaea, the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and the European Academy of Sciences. She is a Foreign Member of the Royal Society and of the United States National Academy of Sciences (NAS). She has been awarded honorary doctorates by ETH Zurich in Switzerland and by the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
The ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize was established in 2014. It is named after Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein, commonly known as Madame de Staël, a prominent philosopher, writer and political theorist of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Awarded annually, the prize reflects ALLEA’s mission to promote Europe’s intellectual, scientific and cultural heritage. It is presented to individuals whose work makes a significant contribution to the integrity and development of Europe, thereby strengthening and fostering the understanding of Europe as diverse, intellectually vibrant, open and dynamic.