Uhlmann has continued to put these qualities to good use since joining the London Research Institute. As Head of the Chromosome Segregation Laboratory, he has built on his earlier discoveries defining modes of separase regulation and uncovering other ways in which the protein orchestrates intricate processes during mitosis and ensures that separated chromosomes move away from each other successfully. His group has also gone on to decipher the role of another crucial protein, called "cohesin", on a genome-wide scale.

Richard Treisman, Director of the London Research Institute, is certainly convinced of Uhlmann's abilities: "We were delighted to welcome Frank to Cancer Research UK six years ago. He has pursued world-class research on the processes of cellular division, advancing our fundamental understanding of how these systems work and providing clues to how they may be disrupted in cancer."

Uhlmann has published over 40 papers, a number of these in high-impact journals such as Nature, Cell or Science. In addition to the EMBO Gold Medal, he has received several other awards including the 2005 Hooke Medal from the British Society for Cell Biology. In 2002, he was selected for the EMBO Young Investigator Programme, a highly competitive programme renowned for its scientific excellence.

On hearing the news of the EMBO Gold Medal, Frank Uhlmann said: "I am absolutely delighted by this award. So many researchers work hard to contribute to our molecular knowledge of cells and organisms. It has been fantastic to find myself doing research in this exciting environment. I very much enjoy participating in European science at many levels, so to get this recognition from EMBO makes me particularly happy."

The EMBO Gold Medal and an award o
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Contact: Lindsay Johnson
lindsay.johnson@embo.org
49-062-218-891-108
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
8-Sep-2006