High recognition for a scientist from Ulm: Dr Stefanie Zorn from the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Ulm University Hospital and the German Centre for Child and Adolescent Health has been awarded the ‘Paul Martini Early Career Award for Clinical Research 2026’ with distinction. The prizes, each worth 6,000 euros, were presented at the end of October at the Paul Martini Foundation’s autumn symposium in Berlin.
Nutrition scientist Dr Stefanie Zorn was honoured with the Paul Martini Early Career Award for her pioneering work on the paediatric diagnosis of genetically determined forms of obesity. In a multinational longitudinal study, she analysed the growth trajectories of children with obesity and compared children with and without obesity-associated genetic variants. The aim was to develop criteria that would enable genetically determined forms of obesity in childhood to be identified earlier and more reliably. In a second study, conducted in collaboration with the University of Cambridge (UK), Dr Zorn investigated the metabolic profile of individuals with genetically determined obesity. The findings of her research not only contribute to improving the diagnosis of obesity in children, but also help treating doctors to select more targeted treatments. Furthermore, Zorn’s work provides notes on a previously unknown function of the MC4R hormone receptor in lipid metabolism, which plays a central role in weight regulation.
“Through her clinical research, Dr Stefanie Zorn is making an important contribution to the personalised and evidence-based treatment of children with obesity and demonstrating how scientific findings have a direct impact on the care of young patients,” affirms Professor Martin Wabitsch, Head of the Section for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology at the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Ulm University Hospital. Each year, the Paul Martini Foundation presents its Early Career Awards for Clinical Research to up to three female scientists aged 35 or under in recognition of outstanding achievements in clinical research and clinical pharmacology. The award winners are selected by the Foundation’s scientific advisory board. “The work of the award winners demonstrates how essential clinical research is in ensuring that new therapeutic and diagnostic concepts do not remain mere ideas, but are validated and initiated in patient care,” said the Chair of the Foundation’s Advisory Board, Professor Robert Zeiser from the University Hospital Freiburg.
Alongside Dr Stefanie Zorn, two further laureates were honoured. PD Dr Thilo von Groote from Münster University Hospital was recognised for his research into a biomarker-guided prevention strategy against the onset of acute kidney injury (AKI) following major surgery. PD Dr Justin Ferdinandus from Cologne University Hospital received the award for his research into chemotherapy treatment for older patients with classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Among other things, a specific antibody-drug conjugate was used in this research.
About the Paul Martini Foundation
For six decades, the non-profit Paul Martini Foundation has been promoting the scientific development of modern drug therapies to ensure effective and safe care for patients. It sees itself as a bridge between academic research, clinical practice, the research-based pharmaceutical industry and policy-making. In addition to the Early Career Awards, it presents the long-established Paul Martini Prize and organises annual symposia and workshops. The foundation is sponsored by the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies, Berlin, which represents 51 research-based pharmaceutical companies.
The foundation is named after the Bonn-based doctor and scientist Professor Paul Martini (1889–1964), who had a decisive influence on clinical and therapeutic research with his work *Methodenlehre der therapeutischen Untersuchung* (Methodology of Therapeutic Investigation), published as early as 1932.
Text: University of Ulm Press Office / Paul Martini Foundation