Bayer Foundation honors five outstanding scientists with the Science Awards 2026

Leverkusen, October 14, 2026 – In 2026, Bayer Foundation honors five outstanding scientists whose research opens up new perspectives and areas for action in health, agriculture and biomedical innovation. The prestigious Otto Bayer Award goes to Sarah O’Connor. The Early Excellence in Science Awards are presented to Colinda Scheele (Biology), James Eills (Chemistry), Antonia Morita Saktiawati (Medical Science) and Bruno Pok Man Ngou (Plant Science).

Otto Bayer Award 2026: Sarah O’Connor

Bayer Foundation presents the 2026 Otto Bayer Award to Sarah O’Connor, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena. She is recognized for her pioneering research into the biosynthesis of natural plant compounds. Her work deciphers how plants produce complex molecules that can be used, among other applications, as medicines against cancer and other diseases.

Through her research, O’Connor has uncovered numerous previously unknown biochemical processes that lead to the formation of valuable natural products, including medically important alkaloids such as vinblastine, quinine and ibogaine. These compounds are used, for example, in the treatment of cancer (vinblastine) or malaria (quinine), or are in clinical trials for treatment of mental health and substance use disorders (ibogaine). Her work lays the foundation for producing important active ingredients more sustainably and efficiently in the future, while opening up new opportunities for drug discovery and development.

The Otto Bayer Award is one of Bayer Foundation’s most prestigious science awards and among the most highly endowed research prizes in Germany. Presented every two years in alternation with the Hansen Family Award, it recognizes leading scientists working in German-speaking countries for groundbreaking research contributions in chemistry or biochemistry. The award, endowed with EUR 75,000, was established in 1984 through a generous provision in the will of Otto Bayer, a former Director of Research at Bayer AG.

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