After completing her PhD at the EMBL Heidelberg, Germany, where she studied eukaryotic transposons, Irma Querques pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, specializing in CRISPR-guided transposons. In 2023, Irma moved to the Perutz as group leader, where she continues to investigate the mechanisms, functions, and biomedical applications of transposons – also known as ‘jumping genes’. Irma says: “I’m excited to receive the John Kendrew Award, especially as it connects closely with my structural biology background, my research focus at the Max Perutz Labs, and the growing interest in transposon biology, which has long been a niche field.” Irma has received several awards for her work, including an ERC Starting Grant and the Vallee Scholarship.
The award, in recognition of Nobel laureate and structural biologist John Kendrew, holds particular significance for the Max Perutz Labs, as Max Perutz and John Kendrew jointly received the 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their pioneering work in X-ray crystallography at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK. Their research was closely intertwined: Max Perutz determined the structure of hemoglobin, while John Kendrew solved the structure of myoglobin, making him the first to determine the atomic structure of a protein. Beyond his scientific achievements, John Kendrew played a pivotal role in shaping molecular biology in Europe, serving as founder and first Director General of the EMBL and fostering international collaboration in research. Max Perutz and John Kendrew’s discoveries revolutionized our understanding of how proteins function at a molecular level – as well as providing structural evidence for Darwin’s theory of evolution – an intellectual legacy that the young researchers, like Irma now, carry forward.