PhD Thesis Award
Studies on primates play a central role in your PhD thesis?
Then apply for the PhD award of the DPZ Sponsorship Society, supported by the MacLean-Erkelenz-Foundation!
PhD students at a university in Germany who have successfully completed their doctoral thesis in 2024 are eligible to apply. We welcome applications from junior scientists from various biological and biomedical disciplines, provided that non-human primates are an indispensable part of their work. This could be, for example, a behavioural study in the field, a research project to understand the basic functions of the brain, or an infection biology study for vaccine development.
Please submit your electronic applications (as PDF via e-mail) by January 31st, 2025 in German or English with the following documents:
- Generally understandable summary of the main results and a description of the effective scientific value of the work (maximum 1 page).
- Details on the beginning, end, supervisor and grade of the work
- Short scientific CV
- List of publications (with impact factor and journal rank in the respective field)
- List of presentations given (talks and posters)
Please submit the documents to the chairman of the Sponsorship Society, Prof. Dr. Christian Roos, at croos(at)dpz.eu.
The Scientific Advisory Board of the German Primate Center selects the best thesis.
The winner will receive prize money of 1000 euros.
The award ceremony will take place in the first half of 2025.
A prize for the best doctoral thesis (DPZ Sponsorship Award) was first awarded in 1988. This prize was replaced in 2023 by the PhD award of the DPZ Sponsorship Society, supported by the MacLean-Erkelenz-Foundation.
Award winners
| Year | Winner | Institute, Research Group | Research Field |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Dr. Liye Zhang | German Primate Center, Department of Primate Genetics | Hybridization between species and the adaptation of apes to their habitats |
| 2022 | Zurna Ahmed | German Primate Center, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience | Neuronal mechanisms underlying natural movements |
| 2021 | Nikoloz Sirmpilatze | German Primate Center, Functional Imaging Unit | Functional imaging of the anesthetized brain in primates and rodents |
| 2020 | Dr. Delphine De Moor | German Primate Center, Research Group Social Evolution in Primates | The importance of paternal kinship relationships in Assam macaques |
| 2020 | Dr. Prerna Arora | German Primate Center, Infection Biology Unit | Development of a new therapeutic approach in the fight against the influenza virus |
| 2018 | Dr. Pooja Viswanathan | University Tübingen, Institute of Neurobiology | Neuronal basics of the sense of numbers in primates |
| 2017 | Dr. Benjamin Dann | German Primate Center, Neurobiology Laboratory | Encoding, coordination, and decision making in the primate frontoparietal grasping network |
| 2016 | Dr. Marlen Fröhlich | Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie, Seewiesen | Communicative complexity and development in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) in the wild |
| 2015 | Dr. Gisela Kopp | German Primate Center, Cognitive Ethology Laboratory | Relationship between genes and behavior |
| 2015 | Dr. Birgit Westernstroer | University Hospital Münster, Centre of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology | Stem cells in the testicles of mice, common marmosets and humans |
| 2014 | Dr. Lydia Luncz | Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie Leipzig, Abteilung für Primatologie | Kulturelle Unterschiede in benachbarten Schimpansengruppen |
| 2014 | Dr. Stefan Schaffelhofer | Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Abteilung Neurobiologie | Vom Auge zur Hand: Kortikale Prozesse zur Planung und Ausführung von Handbewegungen |
| 2013 | Dr. Simon Jacob | Charité Berlin, Psychiatrische Klinik | Neuronale Mechanismen exekutiver Funktionen im Präfrontalkortex von Rhesusaffen: Physiologie und Pharmakologie |
| 2012 | Dr. Vanessa Schmidt | German Primate Center, Cognitive Ethology Laboratory | Social and Physical cognition in Old World Monkeys |
| 2011 | Dr. Martin Surbeck | MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Primatology | Maternal support, dominance status and mating success in male Bonobos |
| 2011 | Dr. Stephanie Westendorff | German Primate Center, Sensorimotor Group | Cortical rule-based action plans in Rhesus Monkeys |
| 2010 | Dr. Vittorio Caggiano | MIT, McGovern Institute for Brain Research | Towards a quantitative analysis of mirror neurons in the monkey cortical premotor area F5 |
| 2009 | Dr. Christian Puller | Goethe University Frankfurt/Main, Faculty of Biological Sciences | The synaptic architecture of the cone pedicle in the primate retina |
| 2008 | Dr. Sebastian Möller | University of Bremen, Brain Research Institute | Functional anatomy of the Rhesus Macaque face processing system |
| 2007 | Dr. Laura Busse | German Primate Center, Cognitive Neuroscience | Effects of selective attention on sensory processing of visual motion |
| 2006 | Dr. Steffen Hage | German Primate Center, Neurobiology Department | On the role of the pontine brainstem in vocal pattern generation. A telemetric single-unit recording study in the Squirrel Monkey |
| 2005 | Dr. Antje Engelhardt | German Primate Center, Reproductive Biology Unit | The significance of male and female reproductive strategies for male reproductive success in wild longtailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) |
| 2004 | Dr. Christian Roos | German Primate Center, Primate Genetics Laboratory | Molecular evolution of the Strepsirrhini |
| 2003 | Dr. Maarten Kole | German Primate Center, Clinical Neurobiology Laboratory | Analysis of stress-induced adaptations of Ca3 pyramidal neurons |
| 2002 | - | - | - |
| 2001 | Dr. Claudia Fichtel | German Primate Center, Neurobiology Department | Emotional correlates in vocalizations of primates |
| 2000 | Dr. Joanna Fietz | German Primate Center, Ethology and Ecology Department | Population ecology and social organisation of the Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur |
| 1999 | Dr. Michael Spring | German Primate Center, Virology and Immunology Department | SIV-induced immune pathogenesis of the Rhesus Macaque: The importance of the activation and apoptosis of the virus-specific T-lymphocytes |
| 1998 | Dr. Stefanie Heiduck | German Primate Center, Ethology and Ecology Department | Foraging strategies of Masked Titi Monkeys |
| 1997 | Dr. Jutta Schmid | German Primate Center, Ethology and Ecology Division | Torpor of the Grey Mouse Lemur in Madagaskar: Energetic consequences and ecological impact |
| 1996 | Dr. Susanne Krasemann | German Primate Center, Virology and Immunology Division | Induction of antibodies against human prion proteins by DNA-mediated immunisation of PrP-0/0-mice |
| 1995 | Dr. Ulf Dittmer | German Primate Center, Virology and Immunology Division | Cellular immune response of Macaques infected with pathogenes of SIV- and HIV-2 immunodeficiency viruses |
| 1994 | - | - | - |
| 1993 | Dr. Dietmar Zinner | German Primate Center, Ecology Working Group | Breeding and Feeding competition in Hamadryas Baboons. An experimental study |
| 1992 | Dr. Olaf Jöhren | German Primate Center, Neurobiology Department | Glucocorticoid receptor gene expression in the brain of Tupaia nelangeri |
| 1991 | Dr. Gerald Voss | German Primate Center, Virology and Immunology Division | Characterization of the cellular immune response of HIV-2-infected Long-tailed Macaques and SIV-mac-immunized and -infected Rhesus Macaques |
| 1990 | Dr. Frank Kirchhoff | German Primate Center, Virology and Immunology Division | Insulation and biological and genetic characterization of HIV-2-clones for investigating the negative regulatory factor and of chimerias between HIV-2- and HIV-1-coat-protein |
| 1989 | Dr. Eckhard Heymann | German Primate Center, Ethology Working Group | Field studies on the behavior and ecology of Tamarines |
| 1988 | Dr. Gabriele Flügge | German Primate Center, Reproduction Biology Working Group | Adrenergic receptors in the brain of Tupaia |
