Lichtenberg-professor Dr. Marc Spehr receives international recognition for his research in the field of chemosensory communication
For human sperm cells, the flavour of lily of the valley is simply irresistible. The odour molecules help the sperm cells to accurately track down the ovum in the Fallopian tube. This fascinating example of a chemosensory signalling process was discovered by Marc Spehr. Since 2008 he is Lichtenberg-professor at the RWTH Aachen University. In the future, his findings could contribute to the treatment of infertility as well as to the development of new contraceptives.
For his excellent research in the field of chemosensory communication, Marc Spehr was now awarded the Young AChemS Investigator Award for Research in Olfaction 2010. Among the former prize winners are the medicine Nobel Prize Laureate Linda Buck (1992) and the Lichtenberg-professor Trese Leinders-Zufall (2002), who investigates the bases of the pheromone communication of mammals at the University of Saarland.
