Dikic honored for his ‘unselfish commitment to training and to the advancement of the scientific com

Ivan Dikic, professor and chairman of the Institute of Biochemistry II at Goethe University, is the winner of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s William C. Rose Award this year.

This award seeks to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to our scientific understanding of biochemical and molecular biology and who have demonstrated a commitment to the training of young researchers.

“Ivan revolutionized our understanding of protein modification by ubiquitination,” writes John D. Scott of the University of Washington, who nominated Dikic for this award. “Ivan’s original work unequivocally defined the molecular basis of ubiquitin decoding. He has earned the highest regards from colleagues.”

Dikic is being honored for his seminal work in decrypting the ubiquitin code and his energetic training and education of young scientists. Dikic’s work demonstrates that modifications of proteins by ubiquitin or ubiquitinlike proteins regulate their activities in many different types of signaling pathways. This has led to a greater understanding of complex diseases, such as cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Dikic also initiated and organized the Dubrovnik Conference on Molecular Signaling, which has allowed students and researchers to interact with eminent scientists from around the world.

In his nomination letter, Mark A. Lemmon of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine said that Dikic possesses an “active and unselfish commitment to training and to the advancement of the scientific community.”

Dikic earned his medical degree from the University of Zagreb Medical School. He later earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology at the New York University School of Medicine under the supervision of Joseph Schlessinger. After conducting two years of postdoctoral work at New York University, he began work at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Uppsala, Sweden. Today, he holds professorships at Goethe University and at the School of Medicine in the University of Split, located in his home country of Croatia.

The award consists of a plaque, a $3,000 prize and transportation to the Experimental Biology 2013 conference in Boston to present a lecture.

Dikic will present his lecture at the Experimental Biology 2013 conference in Boston at 2:55 p.m. April 21.