Heidelberg/Geneva: Indian-origin scientist Gautam Dey, a group leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, has been awarded the prestigious EMBO Gold Medal 2026, one of Europe’s highest honours in life sciences. This year’s award is being jointly shared with Omaya Dudin of the University of Geneva, Switzerland.
The EMBO Gold Medal is presented annually by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) to outstanding early-career scientists based in member countries of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC), an intergovernmental body comprising 32 member states.
Dey received the award for his pioneering research into the evolutionary origins of nuclear organisation and cell division. Dudin was recognised for groundbreaking work that has advanced scientific understanding of the evolutionary origins of multicellularity.
According to EMBO, the decision to honour two scientists this year reflects both their individual scientific achievements and the collaborative nature of their research.
“The EMBO Council decided to award two candidates this year to recognise scientific excellence as well as the open and fertile scientific collaboration between them,” said EMBO Council Chair Marta Miączyńska. She added that their work exemplifies the collaborative spirit that EMBO seeks to encourage through its programmes and initiatives.
Originally from India, Gautam Dey studied biochemistry at the University of Delhi before completing a research master’s degree at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bengaluru. He later moved to Stanford University in the United States for doctoral studies and subsequently joined University College London, where he conducted research on eukaryogenesis—the evolutionary process through which simple single-celled organisms evolved into complex cells containing a nucleus and other internal structures.
Since 2021, Dey has been leading a research group at EMBL in Heidelberg, focusing on the origins and evolution of cell division mechanisms.
Speaking after receiving the award, Dey described science as a profoundly human endeavour shaped by generations of researchers dedicated to understanding life and the universe. He said his future work would build upon decades of mechanistic studies while integrating modern molecular biology techniques with a broader naturalist approach to studying life in its evolutionary context.
The recognition continues a strong run of achievements by scientists of Indian origin in Europe. In 2025, another Indian-origin researcher, Tanmay A.M. Bharat, a programme leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, United Kingdom, was also honoured with the EMBO Gold Medal.
The award highlights the growing global impact of Indian-origin researchers in advancing cutting-edge scientific discoveries across the fields of biology and life sciences.
