Siyao Wang awarded a FEBS Excellence Award

Dr Siyao Wang, a Group Leader at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, Germany, has been awarded a prestigious Excellence Award from the Federation of European Biochemistry Society (FEBS). The award provides her group with €100,000 over three years to fund her research on how errors in paternal DNA repair may cause genetic disorders in offspring.

Siyao and her research group study how mutations arise in germ cells, which are the cells that give rise to sperm and egg cells. Mutations are genetic errors that occur as a result of our DNA being damaged by genotoxic agents such as UV radiation or chemicals from the environment. Normally, our cells can repair such DNA damage, but sometimes the repair mechanisms make mistakes. As organisms age, they may also work less effectively, resulting in even more mutations. Crucially, if these mutations occur in germ cells they can be inherited in offspring, resulting in genetic disorders and increasing the risk of diseases such as schizophrenia and autism. 

Studies show that the majority (80%) of new germ cell mutations are inherited from the father, rather than the mother. Siyao and her team are therefore especially interested in studying the mechanisms by which mutations arise in male germ cells. In particular, they are working to investigate what changes occur in paternal DNA repair mechanisms with age, and how these may result in inherited mutations in offspring. 

The FEBS Excellence Award will provide Siyao with €100,000 over three years to fund her work. This award is given to early-career researchers with a scientific track record of excellence. 

Siyao says, “This work will explain the paternal bias in germline mutations during evolution”.

By studying how errors in DNA repair might cause mutations in offspring, Siyao’s research can help us better understand the effects of paternal ageing and one day identify therapeutic approaches to prevent congenital diseases.

IMB warmly congratulates Siyao on her achievement.

_{Further details}

_{Further information can be found at https://www.febs.org/news/febs-excellence-awards-2024}  

_{Siyao Wang is a Group Leader at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB). Further information about research in the Wang lab can be found at www.imb.de/wang.}

_{About the Institute of Molecular Biology gGmbH} 

_{The Institute of Molecular Biology gGmbH (IMB) is a centre of excellence in the life sciences that was established in 2011 on the campus of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). Research at IMB focuses on the cutting-edge fields of epigenetics, genome stability, ageing and RNA biology. The institute is a prime example of successful collaboration between a private foundation and government: The Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation has committed 154 million euros to be disbursed from 2009 until 2027 to cover the operating costs of research at IMB. The State of Rhineland-Palatinate has provided approximately 50 million euros for the construction of a state-of-the-art building and is giving a further 52 million in core funding from 2020 until 2027. For more information about IMB, please visit: www.imb.de.}

_{About the Centre for Healthy Ageing}

_{The Centre for Healthy Ageing (CHA) is a virtual research centre launched in 2021 that brings together scientists in basic and clinical research from across Mainz that focus on ageing and age-related diseases. These findings can be used to promote healthy ageing and to find treatments that could prevent or cure age-related disease. For more information, please visit: www.cha-mainz.de.}

_{Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation}

_{The Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization that is committed to the promotion of the medical, biological, chemical, and pharmaceutical sciences. It was established in 1977 by Hubertus Liebrecht (1931–1991), a member of the shareholder family of the Boehringer Ingelheim company. Through its funding programmes Exploration Grants, Plus 3, and Rise up!, the Foundation supports excellent scientists during critical stages of their careers. It also endows the international Heinrich Wieland Prize, as well as awards for up-and-coming scientists in Germany. In addition, the Foundation funds institutional projects such as the Vienna-based AITHYRA institute combining AI and Biomedicine, the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), both in Germany. www.boehringer-ingelheim-stiftung.de/en}

_{Press contact for further information}

_{Dr Ralf Dahm, Director of Scientific Management}

_{Institute of Molecular Biology gGmbH (IMB), Ackermannweg 4, 55128 Mainz, Germany} 

_{Phone: +49 (0) 6131 39 21455, Email: press(at)imb.de}