These awards will be presented at the ISRB meeting in Madison,  August 2025. 

ISRB DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Brigitte Galliot, MD, PhD  

Professor

University of Geneva – Switzerland

Brigitte Galliot's scientific endeavours in basic research began as a student in the lab of Prof. Pierre Chambon, where she worked on Hox genes in mice. As a postdoctoral fellow, she embarked on a lifelong and very successful journey studying regeneration mechanisms in Hydra. She conducted landmark molecular work, constantly challenged existing paradigms, an approch which has resulted in a series of important work connecting several interacting processes that regulate hydra regeneration, including oxidative stress, autophagy and apoptosis. Among her significant discoveries are demonstrating the importance of preventing excessive autophagy following amputation in hydra, the finding that apoptotic cells release Wnt signals which are required and sufficient for head regeneration and showing a role for neurogenesis in hydra regeneration. With her unwavering support and long-term commitment to advancing the field of regeneration biology over the years, she has become a major driving force for the community.

ISRB RISING STAR AWARD

Can Aztekin, PhD

Group Leader 

Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Germany

Can Aztekin established his independent research programme in 2021 as an EPFL Life Sciences Early Independent Research Scholar. Since then, he has built an original and productive research programme in regenerative biology and made significant contributions to the field. He has recently taken up a Group Leader position at the Max Planck Institute in Tübingen, Germany. Particularly important are Dr Aztekin’s contributions to regenerative biology including discovering Regeneration-Organizing Cells (ROCs) during Xenopus tail regeneration, establishing an alternative mechanism of limb development in salamanders and developing protocols to generate limb bud organoids. He is also an effective and didactic communicator, and a dedicated advocate of the regeneration research community.