2026 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize Awarded to Solter and Surani for Genomic Imprinting Discovery

Scientific Colloquium at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut with the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prizewinners Davor Solter and Azim Surani: How Epigenetic Imprinting Drives Development

01 / 2026

• The 2026 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize goes to Professor Davor Solter and Professor Azim Surani for the discovery of genomic imprinting.
• Genomic imprinting means that certain genes are "marked" differently depending on whether they originate from the mother or father and that only one parent's gene is read and used for further development.
• The work of both developmental biologists has clarified basic principles of embryonic development and thus also decisively improved the understanding of genetic disease development.

From left to right: Professor Stefan Vieths (President Paul-Ehrlich-Institut), Professor Davor Solter, Professor Azim Surani, Professor Zoe Waibler (Vice President Paul-Ehrlich-Institut). Source: Paul-Ehrlich-Institut

Press Release

The Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize recognises special contributions to the fields of research for which Paul Ehrlich was an advocate, including immunology, cancer research, haematology, microbiology, and chemotherapy. The prize, endowed with €120,000, is awarded annually to one or more researchers and is traditionally presented on the 14th of March, Paul Ehrlich's birthday, in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt.

Every year the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut invites the prizewinners to visit the Institute. Professor Davor Solter and Professor Azim Surani accepted this invitation and presented their research as part of a scientific colloquium on 16 March 2026 at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut.

Source: T.Jansen/Paul-Ehrlich-Institut

The discovery of genomic imprinting is a scientific breakthrough that has fundamentally changed our understanding of genetics. The work of Professor Solter and Professor Surani has opened up a new field of research that provides central insights into the development and course of numerous diseases.

Professor Dr Stefan Vieths (President of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut)

The Discovery of Genomic Imprinting

A basic principle of classical genetics held that each body cell contains two copies of each gene – one from the mother, one from the father – and that both copies are available to be used. However, Solter and Surani found that this rule does not always apply to mammals: some genes are copied but are only read if they come from a certain parent. These genes are provided with molecular markers that determine whether the maternal or paternal copy of the gene sequence is active.

At the beginning of the 1980s, the two researchers began investigating why virgin birth (parthenogenesis) is not possible in mammals despite occurring in other animal species. In experiments with mouse embryos, the scientists combined either two maternal or two paternal pronuclei instead of the combination of maternal and paternal pronuclei that results from natural procreation. They observed that such embryos do not develop normally. Embryos with two sets of paternal chromosomes remained underdeveloped in the embryo, while the placenta grew relatively well; with two sets of maternal chromosomes it was the other way around. Only embryos with one maternal and one paternal pronucleus developed into healthy animals. Solter and Surani concluded from these results that maternal and paternal chromosomes carry different sets of complementary information.

The Term "Genomic Imprinting"

Azim Surani coined the term "genomic imprinting" for this phenomenon. Shortly thereafter, it was demonstrated that the markers mainly consist of small methyl groups that are attached to the DNA. This DNA methylation acts like a molecular label that decides whether a gene is read in a cell or remains silent without changing the actual sequence – a core principle of epigenetics.

The first imprinted genes were identified in the following years, including genes in the IGF (insulin-like growth factor) signalling pathway, in which maternally and paternally inherited copies are active in different ways and influence growth-promoting or growth-inhibiting signals.

Significance for the Understanding of Genetic Diseases

Genomic imprinting disorders have far-reaching health consequences. In Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, for example, individual organs develop asymmetrically when a child is still in the womb; in Angelman syndrome, severe neurological impairments occur. Continued dysregulation of imprinted genes increases the risk of neurological diseases such as epilepsy or developmental disorders such as autism. Imprinted genes also play a role in signalling cascades in adulthood.

The discovery of genomic imprinting and research on the underlying DNA methylation have paved the way for modern, experimentally grounded epigenetics. Today, thousands of scientists worldwide are researching how epigenetic mechanisms control the activity of genes and how these processes can be therapeutically influenced.

Further Information

• Announcement of the 2026 Prizewinners by the Paul Ehrlich Foundation
• Background Information on the Awarding of the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize 2026
• Information from Goethe University Frankfurt: Davor Solter and Azim Surani Awarded the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize 2026 Updated: 16.03.2026

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