Living and Working in the Future: The Top 100 of Creative Minds
Frank Lyko ranks among the top young scientists
Dr. Frank Lyko of the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ) has been highly honored by being selected into the 2004 "TR100 list". The U.S. magazine "Technology Review" has lauded him as one of the 100 top young innovators of the world. In the U.S., this is one of most prestigious distinctions for young technologists and scientists.
In the same way as "Forbes" compiles top 100 lists of the wealthiest and most famous people, the magazine "Technology Review" selects brilliant young minds from a variety of technology disciplines. Relaunched in 1998 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as "MIT's Magazine of Innovation", Technology Review is focused on the latest developments in emerging technologies such as information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology energy, transportation, and defense.
Every year, the magazine's editors and a distinguished panel of judges select 100 persons whose innovative work has a profound impact on the way we will live and work in the future. In 2004, Dr. Frank Lyko, head of the working group "Epigenetics" at the DKFZ, is among these top 100. Lyko, a biologist, investigates how the packaging of the genetic material influences gene activity. For example, if genes involved in cell division are blocked or incorrectly activated, cancer can arise. While conventional cancer treatments aim to kill or surgically remove the transformed cells, Lyko's approach is to restore these cells to their "normal state".
Lyko's research work has been recognized by several awards already: He was the winner of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Award in 2002 and received the Karl Freudenberg Award in 2003. In addition, Lyko is among the young scientists supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) within its Emmy Noether Program.
With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is Germany’s largest biomedical research institute. DKFZ scientists identify cancer risk factors, investigate how cancer progresses and develop new cancer prevention strategies. They are also developing new methods to diagnose tumors more precisely and treat cancer patients more successfully. The DKFZ's Cancer Information Service (KID) provides patients, interested citizens and experts with individual answers to questions relating to cancer.
To transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the prognosis of cancer patients, the DKFZ cooperates with excellent research institutions and university hospitals throughout Germany:
The DKFZ is 90 percent financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.
