27.03.2026 GBM PhD Prize 2026 awarded to Marburg Researcher Anuj Kumar

Award honors outstanding dissertation on CO₂ fixation and energy conservation in microorganisms

Dr. Anuj Kumar from Marburg University has been awarded the 2026 PhD Prize of the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM). The prize recognizes an outstanding doctoral dissertation in biochemistry and is endowed with €1,500. Dr. Kumar received the award on March 26 during the 77th Mosbach Colloquium, where he presented his research in a short lecture. His dissertation focuses on the structural basis of CO₂ fixation and energy conservation in acetogenic bacteria. He conducted his research at the Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO) in Marburg.

Acetogenic bacteria are microorganisms that live without oxygen and play a key role in the global carbon cycle by converting carbon dioxide (CO₂) into cellular building blocks. They operate under extremely low-energy conditions, close to the thermodynamic limits of life. Using advanced electron microscopy, Dr. Kumar was able to determine high-resolution structures of key enzyme complexes for the first time. These molecular machines link CO₂ fixation to energy conservation. By capturing them in different functional states, he reconstructed how they operate and showed how they enable chemically demanding reactions even under severe energy constraints. His findings provide new insights into how life adapts to some of the most energy-limited environments on Earth.

“Dr. Anuj Kumar’s work impressively demonstrates how modern structural biology can reveal new insights into fundamental processes of energy conservation under extreme conditions,” says Gert Bange. “Such findings are of great strategic relevance, as they deepen our understanding of global biogeochemical cycles and may open up new avenues for sustainable biotechnological applications in the long term.”

Anuj Kumar studied Physics at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, India, where he obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. During his Master’s thesis, he conducted research at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg, developing a strong interest in electron microscopy and structural biology. He subsequently worked as a Research Assistant at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg and later at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University of Technology. He completed his PhD at Marburg University under the supervision of Dr. Jan Schuller and Prof. Dr. Volker Müller (Frankfurt University).