Branco Weiss Fellow Can Aztekin receives Schering Young Investigator Award 2026

Branco Weiss Fellow Can Aztekin has been named the recipient of the Schering Young Investigator Award 2026, recognizing his pioneering contributions to regenerative biology. The award, presented annually by the Schering Stiftung, honors outstanding early-career researchers whose work has the potential to transform their field.

Aztekin, who leads a research group at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society in Tübingen, investigates one of biology’s fundamental questions: why some animals can regenerate lost limbs while mammals cannot. His research has shown that mammals retain much of the cellular potential required for regeneration, but that this capacity is suppressed by atmospheric oxygen. These findings may inform new avenues for regenerative medicine and future therapeutic approaches.

The Schering Stiftung also highlighted Aztekin’s exceptional career trajectory. After completing his PhD at the University of Cambridge under Nobel laureate Sir John Gurdon, he established his own research group without first undertaking a postdoctoral position – an uncommon distinction that reflects his scientific achievements. In addition to the Branco Weiss Fellowship, he has received an ERC Starting Grant and the Rising Star Award of the International Society for Regenerative Biology.

The Schering Young Investigator Award, endowed with €10,000, will be presented on 17 November 2026 at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, alongside the Ernst Schering Prize.

Read the announcement by Schering Stiftung: https://scheringstiftung.de/en/programm/lebenswissenschaften/young-investigator-award/syia2026/

Read the press release by MPI Tübingen: https://www.bio.mpg.de/523934/can-aztekin-erhaelt-den-schering-young-investigator-award-2026