On October 25, Dr. Liliya Mukhametzyanova was awarded the Dr. Walter Seipp Prize of the Commerzbank Foundation for her outstanding dissertation. The prize is endowed with EUR 4,000. Prof. Frank Buchholz, Dean of Research at the Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden, and doctoral supervisor, gave the laudatory speech. Two further honors were awarded to Dr. Wolfgang Büschel for his dissertation at the Faculty of Computer Science and Dr. Felix Schilk, who completed his doctoral thesis at the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science. 

© Jürgen Loesel

Liliya Mukhametzyanova has distinguished herself through exceptional and innovative achievements in the field of molecular biology. After completing her doctorate in 2024, she joined Seamless Therapeutics GmbH, a TU Dresden start-up, as a senior scientist. In her dissertation “Increasing the utility of evolved site-specific recombinases for genome editing,” Mukhametzyanova explored a core topic in modern molecular biology: the manipulation of DNA in living cells and organisms. She focuses in particular on site-specific recombinases (SSRs), which play a key role in genetic engineering and biotechnology. Although numerous enzymes for genome editing have already been developed, many of them cannot be used effectively in more complex organisms. Mukhametzyanova's research explores this shortcoming and has made a significant contribution to the advancement of these technologies. One of the spectacular results of her research is the development of designer recombinases, whose activity could be significantly increased by fusing them with programmable zinc finger DNA-binding domains. To support her studies, Mukhametzyanova developed a novel high-throughput assay that allows the testing of different constructs and fusions. The new class of enzymes she has created offers precise and flexible properties that enable unprecedented genome editing. Her research is not only of fundamental scientific relevance, but could also have transformative long-term applications in biotechnology and medicine.

Liliya Mukhametzyanova's work has already been well-received in the scientific world. Her results were published in the Nature Biotechnology journal. Moreover, she is the second author of a publication in Nature Communications, and co-author of two patent applications.

“Liliya Mukhametzyanova's commitment has resulted in outstanding scientific achievements. Her work is an excellent example of independent research at the highest level. I am delighted that her achievements have now been recognized with the Dr. Walter Seipp Prize from Commerzbank,” explains Prof. Frank Buchholz. 

Liliya Mukhametzyanova studied biology (BSc) and regenerative biology and medicine (MSc) at the Kazan Federal University (Russia) and at the Center for Regenerative Therapies at TU Dresden (Germany).  From 2019 to 2023, she was a doctoral student in Prof. Frank Buchholz's research group at the Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden.

The Commerzbank Foundation and the Dresden Cultural Foundation of Commerzbank have been honoring outstanding dissertations by young researchers at TU Dresden with the Dr. Walter Seipp Prize (EUR 4,000) and dissertation prizes (EUR 1,000 each) for 25 years. The submitted dissertations must be graded summa cum laude. The work should have potential to be innovating and should be of social relevance.

Seamless Therapeutics GmbH has developed a groundbreaking gene-editing approach that is expected to restore the health of seriously ill patients using safe and precise therapeutic tools. The technology platform exploits the reprogramming of recombinases, an extremely versatile class of enzymes.

Contact:
Anne-Stephanie Vetter
Staff Unit Public Relations of the Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine
of TUD Dresden University of Technology
Tel.: +49 351 458 17903
Email: anne-stephanie.vetter@tu-dresden.de

www.tu-dresden.de/med