Pakistan-born scientist Asifa Akhtar has been selected as a recipient for the Leibniz Prize for 2021, which is Germany's most important research funding award.

In July, the Karachi-born molecular biologist became the first international woman to be named vice-president of the biology and medicine section of Germany’s prestigious Max Planck Society, which is Germany’s most successful research organisation. Since its establishment in 1948, no fewer than 18 Nobel laureates have emerged from the ranks of its scientists, putting it on a par with the best and most prestigious research institutions globally.

Akhtar has been awarded for her groundbreaking cell-biological work on the mechanisms of epigenetic gene regulation. The award includes €2.5 million in prize money. She is among 10 scientists to have been selected for this important prize for 2021.

In an interview with Nature in November, she had hoped to inspire the next generation of scientists, especially women. “As a woman, I’ve had extra challenges, and I embrace them.”

“I’m aware of the responsibility on my shoulders and I take it very seriously,” she said, adding that she wants "to show that there are role models who can push things forward.”

She also praised the German government’s supportive attitude towards research as a major advantage for researchers, including those who come from abroad. “It sees science as an investment in the future. There is a lot of competition, but there is also a sense of stability that drives scientists to go forward. If you can get exposed to German science at any stage of your career, it’s fantastic.”

Akhtar’s research on the regulation of chromatin - a substance made of DNA and proteins that forms chromosomes within the cell’s nucleus - earned her the 2017 Feldberg Prize. In 2019, she was elected to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the world’s oldest continuously existing academy of natural sciences.

She urges institutions to continue to invest in childcare and other infrastructure to give early-career researchers, especially women, a chance to balance work and family life. “I’m very sympathetic to what the younger generation goes through because I’ve just been through it myself,” said Akhtar.