Prize History
From the 1950s, the need to change food intake with respect to the lipid metabolism became evident in scientific research. Margarine as a favourable basic element in nutrition became increasingly important and the Margarine Institute endowed the Heinrich Wieland Prize in 1963 in order to support research in the field of lipids.
The Board of Trustees which elected the annual Heinrich Wieland Laureate was first headed by Prof. Konrad Lang, the doyen of nutrition physiology in Germany. From 1977 to 1995, Prof. Theodor Wieland, a son of Heinrich Wieland, led the award committee. He was succeeded by Prof. Nepomuk Zöllner, who headed the Board of Trustees from 1996 - 2006. In 2006, Prof. Konrad Sandhoff became the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
In 1989, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Heinrich Wieland Prize, a Heinrich Wieland "Medal in Gold" was endowed. This can be awarded by the trustees to especially honour a scientist's lifetime achievement.
The outstanding reputation the prize enjoys is reflected in the list of Heinrich Wieland Laureates which shows a large number of world-renowned scientists. The Heinrich Wieland Laureates from 1974, Michael S. Brown and Joseph L. Goldstein from Dallas, Texas/USA, went on to receive the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1985. Bengt Samuelsson from Stockholm/Sweden, the Heinrich Wieland Laureate in 1981, was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine shortly after.
In 2000, the Margarine Institute ended its sponsorship of the Heinrich
Wieland Prize and the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim became the
new sponsor.
In the early 20th century, Boehringer Ingelheim and Heinrich Wieland had a
joint history when Heinrich Wieland and his brother Hermann were involved in the
early stages of Boehringer Ingelheim's pharmaceutical research.
Given the long and successful history of the Heinrich Wieland Prize, the current Board of Trustees and the sponsor are confident that it will continue to provide significant support to research in the field of the lipids, and at the same time keep the name of Heinrich Wieland alive.
