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Kistler Prize
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RECIPIENTS 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2009 Recipient
Dr. Svante Pääbo
 Foundation For the Future has selected Dr. Svante Pääbo as the 2009 winner of the Kistler Prize. Dr. Pääbo, a biologist specializing in evolutionary genetics, is Director of the Department of Genetics at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.
Dr. Pääbo was honored for a body of work with ancient DNA, beginning in 1984 with the demonstration of DNA survival in a 2,400-year-old mummy. He developed and refined the techniques used to isolate and sequence ancient DNA, thus playing a key role in creating the field of molecular paleontology. In 1997 he and his colleagues reported the first successful analysis of DNA from Neanderthal bones, and in 2006 he launched a project to commence the sequencing of the complete Neanderthal genome. By early 2009, the first draft version of the Neanderthal genome had been completed, with over 3 billion base pairs sequenced. Dr. Pääbo has helped not only to clarify the nature of the relationship between humans and Neanderthals, but also to uncover genetic changes in the transformation from nonhuman primates to modern humans. For example, he is known for his research on the evolution of the FOXP2 gene that is implicated in the development of language.
“Dr. Pääbo’s work is of a pioneering nature in terms of connecting the science of genetics with human evolution at very basic levels,” said Sesh Velamoor, Foundation For the Future Director of Programs. “His work takes on the macro issues of the origins of humans and why modern humans composed an evolutionary experiment that worked while other near species did not. Answers to these questions aid significantly in our understanding of humanity and how genetics has impacted human society.”
Born in 1955 in Stockholm, Sweden, Pääbo earned his Ph.D. from Uppsala University, Sweden, in 1986. In 1992, he received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, the highest honor awarded in German research. He holds several honorary doctorates and memberships in scientific academies, including the National Academy of the USA. In 2007, Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
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