Tübingen: Young scientists win Attempto Prizes 2025!

Tübingen: Young scientists win Attempto Prizes 2025!

The Attempto Prizes of the Tübingen Attempto Foundation were awarded on October 15, 2025. Two outstanding scientists, Dr. Philipp Klocke and Dr. Peng Liu, were recognized for their notable contributions to neuroscience. Dr. Klocke received the award for his research into movement blocks in Parkinson's patients, while Dr. Liu was honored for her studies on aging processes in the cerebral cortex. The prizes are endowed with 5,000 euros each and were presented at the general meeting of the Association of Friends of the University of Tübingen, as reported by [idw-online.de](https://nachrichten.idw-online.de/2025/10/16/attempto-preise-gehen-an-eine-neurosreicherin-und-einen-neuros academician?groupcolor=4).

Dr. Klocke, who works at the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital of Tübingen and at the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, has worked intensively on the phenomenon of “freezing” in Parkinson's disease. These short-term movement blocks often occur in advanced stages of the disease and are an enormous challenge for many of those affected. In his study, Klocke shows that both activation and deactivation disorders occur in the subthalamic nucleus before and during freezing. These findings could represent a crucial step in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Research on Parkinson's and its challenges

Parkinson's disease affects approximately 6 million people worldwide and is the second most common brain disease after Alzheimer's, as described on scisimple.com. The typical symptoms of the disease include motor restrictions, which increasingly impair the quality of life of those affected. In particular, the loss of brain cells in the substantia nigra leads to lack of exercise and other complications. Around half of patients develop restless movements, which are often related to treatments.

But even in the advanced stages, those affected by Parkinson's often show posture and balance problems, which lead to an increased risk of falling. Parkinson's drugs often offer only small improvements, which makes research even more important. Psychiatric complications such as dementia or hallucinations can also occur as the disease progresses parkinsonstiftung.de.

Dr. Liu and her groundbreaking research

Dr. Peng Liu, who also works at the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, is studying the changes in the cerebral cortex that accompany the processing of touch stimuli as we age. Their studies have shown that with increasing age the cerebral cortex becomes thinner, while the fourth layer in particular shows an increase in myelin. She also examines individual differences, such as a person who only has one arm from birth. Such findings could reveal a lot about how the brain works at different stages of life.

Merging these two areas of research – studying brain activity in Parkinson's disease and understanding aging processes – could lead to a better understanding of the complex interactions within the brain. The results could not only be important for research, but also offer future-oriented approaches in clinical practice.

With these novel findings, both Dr. Klocke and Dr. Liu is on a promising path. The connections shown between Parkinson's and brain activity could help to significantly improve the quality of life of those affected and optimize treatment options. Science has a knack for finding answers - and that's exactly what matters when it comes to human well-being.