Asifa Akhtar honored Baden-Württemberg’s Order of Merit
The Max Planck Institute director in Freiburg receives the highest honor from the state of Baden-Württemberg
- Award: Asifa Akhtar, Director of the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg, receives the Order of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg for her outstanding contributions to the field of epigenetics.
- Research: Akhtar has been conducting research in the state Baden-Württemberg for almost 30 years, making a significant contribution to our understanding of epigenetic gene regulation.
- Research Hub Development & Early-Career Support: Her work has established Freiburg as an important hub for epigenetics research. Through her commitment to career development, she has helped many young talents launch their own research groups in recent years.
For nearly 30 years, first at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and, since 2009, at the Max Planck Institute for Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg, Asifa Akhtar has been researching the mechanisms of epigenetic gene regulation. Her work has made a fundamental contribution to our understanding of cells store and transmit information without altering the genes themselves. These findings in epigenetics are not only scientifically significant but also have direct medical relevance.
Now, the Max Planck director has received the Order of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg. Minister President Winfried Kretschmann presented her with the award on March 27, 2026, during a ceremony at the Neuen Schloss in Stuttgart. The award recognizes her achievements as a leading international scientist and pioneer in the field of epigenetic regulation.
Freiburg as an Epigenetics Hub
The award honors a career that extends far beyond individual research findings: Akhtar’s work and her commitment at the Max Planck Institute have played a key role in establishing Freiburg and Baden-Württemberg as a leading center for epigenetics research. Akhtar is actively involved in several national research consortia, including SFB1381 and the CIBSS Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg.
Since 2010, she has organized the Max Planck Freiburg Epigenetics Meeting together with her institute: a scientific conference that has become one of the central events in global chromatin and epigenetics research. In 2026, leading scientists from around the world will once again gather for three days in the Black Forest city to discuss latest data and research findings.
Every human cell contains 46 chromosomes — including the sex chromosomes. While women have two X chromosomes, men have only one. This raises a fundamental biological question: why do women not produce twice as many gene products as men, even though they carry twice as many copies of the X-chromosomal genes? This phenomenon, known as dosage compensation, is at the heart of Asifa Akhtar's research at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg.
Nature has evolved different solutions to this problem in different species. In humans, one of the two female X chromosomes is largely silenced — a molecular mechanism that balances out the genetic disparity. Akhtar and her team investigate how this fine-tuning works at the molecular level. Epigenetics plays a crucial role here: chemical marks on the DNA packaging — known as chromatin — control which genes are active and which are not. Certain proteins, such as MOF enzymes, place these marks and thereby regulate gene activity also in other contexts of the cell.
This basic research has direct medical relevance. When epigenetic regulation is disrupted, serious diseases can arise. Akhtar’s lab has uncovered the molecular causes of the so-called Basilicata-Akhtar syndrome — an extremely rare condition that primarily affects children and leads to developmental disorders and neurological impairments. Furthermore, understanding epigenetic mechanisms opens up new therapeutic possibilities: unlike DNA itself, epigenetic marks can be specifically targeted and modified — a promising avenue for the medicine of the future.
Asifa Akhtar has not only strengthened the institute’s standing but also mentored generations of young scientists. Nine former junior researchers from her lab, six of whom are women, have since established their own research groups.
Since 2020, Akhtar has also served as Vice President of the Max Planck Society, a role in which she is increasingly dedicated to promoting the visibility of women in science. She repeatedly draws attention to the structural barriers that female researchers face in Germany and around the world—ranging from underrepresentation to the unique demands that come with increased visibility. Akhtar advocates for modern leadership models and an inclusive research culture, convinced that scientific progress and gender equality are inextricably linked.
MR
Biography of Asifa Akhtar
Asifa Akhtar was born in Karachi, studied biology at University College London, and received her PhD in 1997 from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London, where she researched mechanisms of gene regulation. She continued her work on chromatin regulation as a postdoctoral researcher at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and at the Adolf Butenandt Institute in Munich. She returned to EMBL Heidelberg in 2001 as a group leader before moving her lab to the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg in 2009. Since 2013, Asifa Akhtar has been a Scientific Member and Director at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg. In 2020, she was also appointed Vice President of the Biology and Medicine Section of the Max Planck Society.
She has received numerous honors for her scientific and personal achievements: In 2008, she was awarded the prize of the European Life Science Organization (ELSO), was elected as an EMBO member in 2013, and joined the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in 2019. In 2021, she received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation (DFG) for her cell biological research into mechanisms of epigenetic gene regulation. That same year, she was awarded the Christa Šerić-Geiger Prize by the Carl Friedrich Geiger Foundation, which honors women who have made outstanding contributions to science, education, culture, social issues, or gender equality. In 2023, she received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which recognizes individuals who use their knowledge to support disadvantaged people. In 2025, she received the FEBS | EMBO Women in Science Award and became a member of the Royal Society.
Merit order of the state Baden-Württemberg
The Merit Order of the State of Baden-Württemberg, known as the 'Merit Medal' until June 2009, is awarded by the Minister-President in recognition of exceptional contributions to Baden-Württemberg, particularly in political, social, cultural and economic areas. The Order is generally conferred once a year as part of a formal ceremony, which is traditionally held around Baden-Württemberg's anniversary of foundation on 25 April. The total number of living recipients of the Order is limited to 1,000.
