In 2023, the Bavarian Academy of Science honored Leonhard Möckl's research results and their importance for basic research and clinical application. Möckl, who has been an independent research group leader at the MPL since 2020, received the Arnold Sommerfeld Prize, which has been awarded since 1994 for outstanding achievements by young scientists in the natural sciences and is endowed with 4000 euros. The Academy emphasized his creativity and his broad range of methods. They also emphasized his role in researching the glycocalyx.

The glycocalyx is the outermost layer on the surface of cells. It can be thought of as a sheath - and glycocalyx actually means "sweet mantle". This coat is the first part of the cell that interacts with the environment, for example with other cells, nutrients or pathogens. Thanks to these results and the work of other groups, it is now known that the glycocalyx is of central importance for essential cellular processes. In its laudatory speech, the BAdW wrote: "After the glycocalyx was long regarded as merely a passive layer, Leonhard Möckl's research made a decisive contribution to fundamentally changing this image."

For Leonhard Möckl, the prize is also a validation. The application of biophysical methods to glycobiological issues is relatively new; and he drove research in this field forward, contrary to the opinion of some colleagues that there was not much to be gained in this area. He is now all the more pleased about the recognition of the research field that he helped to found. He adds: "Being awarded the Sommerfeld Prize fills me with gratitude. On the one hand, to all those who have contributed to getting me to where I am now: my mentors and my family. On the other hand, especially to those who, through their dedication, creativity and hard work, now make it possible for us to learn new things about the role of Glycocalyx every day and to delve deeper and deeper into its fascinating biology: To all the members of my group who are doing outstanding work."

Image (@Kai Neunert): Leonhard Möckl receives the Arnold-Sommerfeld-Prize from academy president Markus Schwaiger.