The Biophysical Society has selected Erdinc Sezgin, Associate Professor at Karolinska Institutet, SciLifeLab and the Department of Women's and Children's Health, as the recipient of the 2026 Early Independent Career Award. The award recognises his outstanding work combining chemistry, physics, biology and computer science to advance fundamental and translational insights into how the biophysics of cells influence health and disease.
Erdinc Sezgin studied Genetics and Bioengineering at Yeditepe University in Istanbul, Turkey. Since 2020, he has led his independent research group at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab. He is also an EMBO Young Investigator and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford. He pursued his PhD at the International Max Planck Research School in Dresden, Germany, and went on to postdoctoral research in immunology and imaging at the University of Oxford, supported by EMBO, Marie Curie and Newton fellowships.
"The Biophysical Society has played a pivotal role in shaping my career. I am deeply honoured to receive this award, which is not only a personal recognition but also a testament to the work of my group. Above all, it is an acknowledgement of our line of research, and a source of energy to continue exploring the big mysteries of our tiny cells through biophysics," says Erdinc Sezgin.
The Early Independent Career Award is presented annually by the Biophysical Society to early-career scientists who have established independent research programmes and made significant contributions to the field of biophysics.
