FEMS-Lwoff Award for Achievements in Microbiology

Launched in 2000, the FEMS-Lwoff Award for Achievements in Microbiology is the most prestigious award presented by FEMS. It recognises outstanding microbiologists whose world-class research has advanced microbial knowledge to help address important societal challenges.

The award is named in honour of Professor André M. Lwoff, the first FEMS President (1974–1976) and 1965 Nobel laureate in Medicine. The award is presented with a commemorative silver medal at the FEMS MICRO: Congress & Exhibition, where the recipient is invited to give prize-lecture during a topic session and share their work with the wider microbiology community.

Eligibility

• The FEMS-Lwoff Award is open to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to microbiology in Europe.
• All areas of microbiology are eligible for consideration. While preference is given to nominees whose scientific research demonstrates excellence and societal impact, exceptional contributions through teaching, scientific writing, leadership, or other forms of service to microbiology may also be recognised.
• Nominees are preferably working and residing in Europe.

How to nominate

Submit your nomination by 30 September 2026 using the online nomination form.

Your nomination must include:

• A nomination letter outlining the reasons for the nomination and highlighting the nominee’s most relevant publications in peer-reviewed journals
• The nominee’s contact information
• A short curriculum vitae (CV)
• A brief biography
• A high-quality photograph that may be used for promotional purposes

Nominations may be submitted by societies, groups, or individuals working in microbiology.  In line with our commitment to inclusion and equal opportunities, FEMS encourages nominations that reflect the diversity of the microbiology community, including scientists from underrepresented groups.

Additional information about the selection procedure can be found in the FEMS Lwoff Award Regulations.

Past FEMS-Lwoff Awardees

2025 Lwoff Awardee

Prof. Carmen Buchrieser

Prize lecture: Legionella pneumophila – a copycat eukaryote
Venue: Milan, Italy, FEMS MICRO 2025: Congress & Exhibition

Read the Press Release | Hear from Carmen Buchrieser in our podcast

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2023 Lwoff Awardee

Prof. Kenneth Timmis

Prize Lecture: Microbiology Literacy And Human Stewardship Of Planet Earth: The Generational Contract
Venue: Hamburg, Germany, 10th FEMS Congress

Read the Press Release | Hear from Kenneth Timmis in our podcast

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2021 Lwoff Awardee

Prof. E. Charpentier, France

Prize Lecture: Crispr-Cas-9: Transforming Life Sciences Through Bacteria
Venue: World Microbe Forum, Online, 9th FEMS Congress

Read our Spotlight with Emmanuelle Charpentier

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2019 Lwoff Awardee

Prof. P. Cossart, France

Prize Lecture: The model organism Listeria monocytogenes: towards the complete understanding of it physiology and its virulence
Venue: Glasgow, Scotland, 8th FEMS Congress

Read the Press Release | Watch our interview with Pascale Cossart

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2017 Lwoff Awardee

Prof. J. Errington, United Kingdom

Prize Lecture: Cell wall deficient (L-form) bacteria: from chronic infections to the origins of life
Venue: Valencia, Spain, 7th FEMS Congress

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2015 Lwoff Awardees

Prof. F. Baquero, Spain

Prize Lecture: Transmission: a basic process in Microbiology
Venue: Maastricht, The Netherlands, 6th FEMS Congress
Date: 11 June 2015

Prof R.K. Thauer, Germany

Prize Lecture: The microbial methane cycle
Venue: Maastricht, The Netherlands, 6th FEMS Congress
Date: 11 June 2015

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2013 Lwoff Awardee

Prof. Juan Luis Ramos, Granada

Prize Lecture: Mechanism of Solvent Tolerance in Gram Negative Bacteria
Venue: Leipzig, Germany, 5th FEMS Congress
Date: 25 July 2013

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2011 Lwoff Awardee

Miroslav Radman, Croatia

Venue: Geneva, Switzerland, 4th FEMS Congress
Date: 30 June 2011

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2009 Lwoff Awardee

Karl-Heinz Schleifer, Germany

Prize Lecture:  Classification of Bacteria: From Unicellular Plants to the Age of Genomics
Venue: Gothenburg, Sweden, at the occasion of the 3rd FEMS Congress
Date: 1 July 2009

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2006 Lwoff Awardee

Jorg Hacker, Germany

Prize Lecture:  Evolution in Microbial Pathogens
Venue: Madrid, Spain, at the occasion of the 2nd FEMS Congress
Date: 6 July 2006

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2003 Lwoff Awardee

Prof. Sir David A. Hopwood, United Kingdom

Prize Lecture:  Streptomyces Genes in Nature and Medicine
Venue: Ljubljana, Slovenia, at the occasion of the 1st FEMS Congress
Date: 2 July 2003

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2000 Lwoff Awardee

Prof. Philippe J. Sansonetti, France

Prize Lecture:  Rupture, invasion and inflammatory destruction of the intestinal barrier by Shigella, making sense of prokaryote-eukaryote cross-talks.
Venue: Sevilla, Spain, at the occasion of the FEMS Jubilee
Date: 15 September 2000

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Join Our Thriving Microbiology Community

Our awards recognise that scientific excellence can be found across our diverse community and at all stages of a scientific career. The FEMS-Lwoff award is entirely funded by the FEMS Journals. The FEMS journals are run by microbiologists, and for microbiologists. Every article published by us has been rigorously reviewed for soundness of science by our community of academic peer reviewers – and the not-for-profit journals support the microbiology community.