Skip to main content
Close
Vilcek Foundation
  • About
    • About

      The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences.

    • Our Mission
    • Board & Staff
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Prizes

      The Vilcek Foundation Prizes are awarded to foreign-born individuals for extraordinary achievement in the arts and sciences.

    • About the Prizes

      Learn more about the Vilcek Foundation Prizes and the prizewinners.

    • Vilcek Prizes

      Awarded to immigrants with a legacy of major accomplishments.

    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise

      Awarded to young immigrant professionals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement early in their careers.

    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence

      Awarded to immigrants who have had a significant impact on American society, or to individuals who are dedicated champions of immigrant causes.

    • Prize Recipients
    • Grants for Organizations
  • Art
  • Events
  • News
Sign Up Search
Home > Prizes > Prize Recipients > Ruth Lehmann

Ruth Lehmann

2021 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science

Location

Cambridge, MA

Title

Director, Whitehead Institute; Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Area(s) of Research

Germ cells, developmental and cell biology

Education

University of Freiburg (MS, Biology);
University of Tübingen (PhD)

Country of Birth

Germany

Follow Ruth Lehmann
Twitter
Links to learn more about Ruth Lehmann's work
  • mit.edu

Tags
biomedical science genome germ cells germany MIT NYU reproduction rna skirball institute Whitehead Institute women in science women in stem
Share this page
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Ruth Lehmann smiling, arms crossed, standing in her science lab.

A developmental geneticist and cell biologist, Ruth Lehmann studies germ cells, the precursors of eggs and sperm. Her research has illuminated how these cells control reproduction from generation to generation. Studying the germ cell life cycle, she elucidated mechanisms of extra-chromosomal inheritance by focusing on how RNA and mitochondria in the egg cytoplasm are transmitted from the egg to the next generation, and determined how germ cells attain their unique fate, how they differentiate into functional gametes, and how they retain totipotency to protect the continuity of the species.

Lehmann has delivered seminal insights into the biology of the reproductive cells with broad implications for basic cellular and molecular mechanisms. Her studies have led to an understanding of the critical role of RNA regulation in germ cells, especially regarding the mechanisms of RNA organization in RNA-protein condensates. Lehmann’s recent work proposed a mechanism through which harmful mutations in mitochondrial DNA are eliminated during oogenesis, which has implications for better understanding the transmission of human mitochondrial disorders.

While an undergraduate student at the University of Tübingen, Lehmann became interested in science. A biology professor encouraged her to pursue further studies in the United States, where she would be freer to engage in independent research. In 1977, Lehmann came to the United States on a Fulbright fellowship to study at the University of Washington in Seattle; it was there that Lehmann developed a passion for developmental biology, working under the mentorship of Gerold Schubinger.

Ruth Lehmann, sitting with her mother and brother on a blanket in the grass.
Ruth Lehmann was born in Cologne, Germany. Pictured here, at age 1, Ruth is with her mother and brother, Alo, in their garden in Cologne.

In 1978, she attended a conference and met Nobel laureate Dr. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, who invited Lehmann to join her team for graduate studies. At the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Lehmann and her colleagues in the Nüsslein-Volhard lab elucidated the genetic compass that is laid down in the egg prior to fertilization and sets the coordinates for the future embryonic axes.

A black and white photo of Ruth Lehmann looking off screen during a conference.
At 25, Ruth was working as a Diploma (master) student in the in the laboratory of Jose Campos-Ortega. Completely fascinated by the scientific discourse, she is pictured here at a conference held in the Black Forest to discuss the latest in developmental neurobiology.

These landmark studies sparked Lehmann’s fascination with germ cells and their unique role in transgenerational inheritance. She joined the laboratories of Michael Wilcox and Peter Lawrence at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the Medical Research Council (MRC) in Cambridge, England, for postdoctoral training, where she combined genetics and molecular biology to identify the molecules that control germ cell fate.

Ruth Lehmann, in a blue shirt, sitting in a light-filled room.
In 1990, Ruth was a young, assistant professor who could not believe her luck to be in the United States, given an independent position with no U.S. pedigree, and following her dreams of doing research exploring the genetic principles of reproduction.

In 1988, Lehmann returned to the United States as a member of the Whitehead Institute and a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “Being an immigrant in the United States was exhilarating,” she says, “because of the openness to new ideas and the encouragement to take risks and be creative.” In 1996, she joined the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at New York University (NYU) Medical Center, where she would go on to become the director, as well as chair of the Department of Cell Biology at NYU Langone Medical Center. In the summer of 2020, Lehmann returned to MIT as the director of the Whitehead Institute.

In these challenging times, championing fundamental research and supporting the careers of the next generation of scientists is more important than ever.

Ruth Lehmann inspecting a tray of vials with former graduate students.
Ruth speaking with a former graduate student, Yolande Grobler, and former postdoc, Tatjana Trcek (both immigrants from South Africa and Slovenia, respectively), about experiments to determine what controls the growth of the bacterium Wolbachia, which lives inside Drosophila cells and protects insects against viruses.

Lehmann has been actively involved in science education and in the governance of several societies including the Society for Developmental Biology and the American Society for Cell Biology. Her contributions to research and leadership in developmental genetics and cell biology have been widely recognized. She was an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for 30 years (1990–2020). She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1998, the National Academy of Sciences in 2005, and is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (2012).

 

Awards and Accomplishments

  • Porter Award, The American Society for Cell Biology (2018)
  • Lifetime Achievement Award, German Society for Developmental Biology (2017)
  • Member, European Molecular Biology Organization (2012)
  • Edwin Grant Conklin Medal, Society for Developmental Biology (2011)
  • Member, National Academy of Sciences (2005)
  • President, Society of Developmental Biology (2002–03)
  • Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1998)
  • David and Lucille Packard Fellowship (1989)
  • Otto-Hahn Medal, the Max Planck Society (1985)

Follow Ruth Lehmann

Twitter
Tags
biomedical science genome germ cells germany MIT NYU reproduction rna skirball institute Whitehead Institute women in science women in stem

Jury Members

2021 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science

Angelika Amon

Former Kathleen and Curtis Marble Professor of Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1967 - 2020)

Titia de Lange

Leon Hess Professor, The Rockefeller University

Lily Jan

Professor of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of California, San Francisco

Dan R. Littman

Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Professor of Molecular Immunology, New York University Langone Health

Joan Massagué

Director, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Ruslan Medzhitov

Sterling Professor of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine

Alexander Rudensky

Chair, Immunology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Huda Zoghbi

Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
Share this page
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Related Prize Recipients

Silvi Rouskin

Silvi Rouskin receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for developing methods to unravel the shapes of RNA molecules inside cells and aiding the potential development of RNA-based therapeutics.
Portrait of Silvi Rouskin

Michaela Gack

Michaela Gack receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for uncovering molecular mechanisms by which the human immune system triggers antiviral defenses, and for identifying potential vaccine and drug targets for emerging infectious diseases.
Portrait of Michaela Gack

Rudolf Jaenisch

Rudolf Jaenisch receives the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science for pathbreaking work in genetic engineering that led to the creation of transgenic mouse models and laid the ground for therapeutic cloning and multiple advances in stem cell research.
Portrait of Rudolf Jaenisch

You may also be interested in

February 22, 2021

Ruth Lehmann: “There’s always another question… there’s always more to find out”

Molecular and cellular biologist Ruth Lehmann receives the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science for her research and leadership in the field.
A portrait of Ruth Lehmann in a black blazer as she stands on a bridge over the Charles River.
December 9, 2020

Ruth Lehmann wins the 2021 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science

Developmental cell biologist Ruth Lehmann receives the honor for her ground-breaking work on reproductive cells.
Ruth Lehmann, wearing a gray jacket and red scarf, against a neutral gray backdrop.
September 7, 2020

Announcing the 2021 Vilcek Foundation Prizewinners

The 2021 Vilcek Foundation Prizes celebrate the outstanding career achievements of immigrant leaders in filmmaking, biomedical science, and public service.
Black and white photo of all nine 2021 Vilcek Foundation Prizewinners

Join our mailing list

Sign Up
Vilcek Foundation
21 East 70th Street
New York, New York 10021

Phone: 212.472.2500

Email: info@vilcek.org

  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Board and Staff
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Vilcek Prizes
    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise
    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence
    • Prize Recipients
    • Grants for Organizations
  • Art
  • Events
  • News
  • Careers
Connect with us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube
  • Vimeo
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
© 2023   Vilcek Foundation