Annette Gabriele Beck-Sickinger

Annette G. Beck-Sickinger studied chemistry and biology at the University of Tübingen (Germany) and received her Ph.D. under the supervision of Günther Jung (Organic Chemistry, University of Tübingen) in 1989. After completing her doctorate, she undertook several research fellowships, including stays in the United States and Denmark. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in Zürich, she earned her habilitation in 1995, also in Tübingen. From 1996 to 1999, she served as an assistant professor of pharmaceutical biochemistry at ETH Zürich.

In 1999, she accepted a position as a full professor of Biochemistry and Bioorganic Chemistry at the University of Leipzig. In 2009 and 2014, she was a visiting professor at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN).

Annette Beck-Sickinger was a member of the Board of the German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, 2004–2012; Vice-president 2006–2008) and of the DFG panel "Biochemistry" (2004–2012). She has been a full member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences since 2009, of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (Chemistry Section) since 2012, and of the Lower Saxon Academy of Sciences in Göttingen since 2021. In 2010, she was elected to the University Council of the University of Leipzig; from 2014 to 2020, she served on the University Council of the University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim, which she chaired from 2018 to 2021. From 2017 to 2023, she served as a member of the Board of the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (gbm) and was vice-president from 2019 to 2021. She was a member of the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat) from 2012 to 2018.

Since 2021, Beck-Sickinger has been a member of the Senate of the German Research Foundation (DFG). In 2026, she was appointed a founding member of the FEBS Research Academy.

She has served and continues to serve on numerous boards, including the Board of the German "Verbandes der Chemischen Industrie", the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis e. V. (LIKAT) in Rostock, the Advisory Board of the Carl Zeiss Foundation, and the International Scientific Advisory Board of the University of Basel’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and chairs the International Advisory Board of Angewandte Chemie.

In addition, Beck-Sickinger serves on various award and selection committees, such as those of the German Chemical Society (GDCh), the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM), the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS), as well as for various foundations, e.g., the Boehringer Ingelheim Prize and the Life Science Bridge Award.

Beck-Sickinger supervised numerous early-career researchers from a wide variety of countries, including Italy, India, Spain, Denmark, and Pakistan; 93 doctoral dissertations were completed under her guidance by 2026. She also served as a mentor for 5 habilitation candidates and junior professors.

In March 2015, Beck-Sickinger was at the center of a controversy related to comments made during correspondence with an internship applicant in which she stated she would not accept any male students from India.

The university declined to publish e-mails between Prof. Dr. Annette Beck-Sickinger and the student from India. However, the rector of the university, Prof. Dr. Beate Schücking as well as the students council of the university had the opportunity to review all relevant e-mails. Two independent statements have been published claiming that the mail published by the Indian student was faked as it only contained parts of the email conversation and that the student was declined for formal reasons.

Germany's ambassador to India wrote a letter condemning Beck-Sickinger and, stating: "Your oversimplifying and discriminating generalisation is an offence to women and men ardently committed to furthering women's empowerment in India; and is an offence to millions of law-abiding, tolerant, open-minded and hard-working Indians. Let's be clear: India is not a country of rapists," he wrote. "I would encourage you to learn more about the diverse, dynamic and fascinating country and the many welcoming and open-minded people of India so that you could correct a simplistic image, which – in my opinion – is particularly unsuitable for a professor and teacher."