Prof. Craig Crews appointed Ziegler Guest Professor 2025
Yale scientist honoured for pioneering new therapies against previously untreatable diseases
Professor Craig Crews from Yale University will receive the highest distinction awarded by the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung this year. From 11–13 May, he will visit the institute to give two lectures and engage in scientific exchange with researchers on site.
Crews is regarded as a pioneer in the development of PROTACs (proteolysis-targeting chimeras). Unlike conventional drugs that block disease-causing proteins, PROTACs work by eliminating them from the cell entirely – a promising strategy for tackling hard-to-treat diseases and previously untreatable cancers. “Professor Crews laid the foundation for an entirely new research field with far-reaching potential in medicine and biotechnology,” says Professor Frank Neese, Managing Director of the institute. “That makes him a most deserving recipient of the Ziegler Prize.”
In 2013, Crews founded the company Arvinas, which has since achieved several milestones by bringing PROTACs into clinical trials, including for the treatment of breast cancer. Further start-ups and partnerships – such as a $434 million collaboration with Merck in 2015 – demonstrate both the scientific and commercial potential of this new drug class and show how groundbreaking basic research can translate into real-world therapies.
The ceremonial lecture and award presentation will take place on Tuesday, 13 May at 4:00 PM in the main lecture hall of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung (entrance: Lembkestraße 7). In his public talk titled “PROTACs and Targeted Protein Degradation: A New Therapeutic Modality”, Professor Crews will explain how the method works, what challenges remain, and what the future holds for this rapidly evolving field. The lecture will be held in English.
About the Karl Ziegler Guest Professorship
The Karl Ziegler Guest Professorship, endowed with €5,000, is named after Nobel Prize-winning chemist and honorary citizen of Mülheim an der Ruhr, Karl Ziegler. From 1943 to 1969, Ziegler served as Director of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung and made outstanding contributions to chemistry, including the discovery of a new class of catalysts that revolutionised the industrial production of plastics – an achievement that earned him the Nobel Prize in 1963.
The guest professorship was established by Ziegler’s wife and daughter after his death to honour his legacy. Since 1978, it has enabled renowned scientists from around the world to visit the institute, share their research, and deliver a public lecture. This year, Craig Crews becomes the 35th scientist to receive the Karl Ziegler Guest Professorship.
