Franz-Ulrich Hartl, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, is awarded the Schleiden Medal by the German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina. The biochemist receives the honor for his work on unraveling the function of molecular chaperones, a class of proteins that help other proteins to fold correctly. Since misfolded proteins are also the cause of neurodegenerative diseases, Hartl's findings help to better understand the development of diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's diseases. The honor will be awarded on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in Halle (Saale), Germany.