Carl-Henrik Heldin, Melanie Smallman, Stefan von Holtzbrinck
CELEBRATE THE BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE YEAR FROM THE EMERGING TALENTS, SCIENCE START-UPS, AND SCIENCE ENGAGEMENT CATEGORIES.
Concluding a rich day filled with pitches, the Joint Awards Ceremony honours and celebrates the novel Science Breakthroughs of the Year from the Emerging Talents (Falling Walls Lab), Science Start-Ups (Falling Walls Venture), and Science Engagement (Falling Walls Engage) categories.
The ceremony will be held in the presence of distinguished juries chaired by Carl-Henrik Heldin (Nobel Foundation), Melanie Smallman (University College London), and Stefan von Holtzbrinck (Holtzbrinck Publishing Group) respectively.
On 9 November, the anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the awardees will be invited to return to the stage to celebrate the Science Breakthroughs of the Year with the awardees from the other categories.
Carl-Henrik Heldin has been a professor in Molecular Cell Biology at Uppsala University, Sweden since 1992. Between 1986 and 2017 he was the Branch Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Uppsala. He is the chair of the Boards of the Nobel Foundation. His research interest is related to the mechanisms of signal transduction by growth regulatory factors, as well as their normal function and role in disease. In particular, he studies platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), a major mitogen for connective tissue cells, and transforming growth factorb (TGFb), which inhibits the growth of most cell types. An important goal is to explore the possible clinical utility of signal transduction antagonists.
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIES
Melanie Smallman, Jury Chair 2019-2023, Engage
Melanie Smallman is an Associate Professor in Science and Technology Studies and Co-Director of the Centre for Science Communication at UCL. Her research looks at how the public form views around new and emerging science and technology and how these views influence public policy.
Prior to joining UCL, Melanie Smallman was founder and Director of the Science Communications Consultancy Think-Lab, providing policy and communications advice and support to a range of organisations including London’s Science Museum, The Wellcome Trust and the UK’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Melanie continues to combine practice with research and teaching, is a member of UCL’s Climate Change Communications Commission, and has recently advised the UK Parliament on science communication.
Stefan von Holtzbrinck, Jury Chair 2013–2023, Venture
Stefan von Holtzbrinck is CEO of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, a holding company with a prime focus on research publishing (Springer Nature) and technology business (Digital Science). The group also runs companies such as ZEIT, Macmillan Publishers and Holtzbrinck Buchverlage. Stefan is Founder and Chairman of Max Planck Foundation, Honorary Member of the Senate of Max Planck Society, Vice Chairman of the American Academy Berlin, Vice Chairman of the Business and Industry advisory board of Goethe Institute and Chairman of the Stuttgart Children’s Foundation.
