Konrad Beyreuther


Konrad Beyreuther is a German molecular biologist and chemist known for his work on neurodegenerative diseases.

Works

Beyreuther's work with Colin L. Masters implicated amyloid precursor protein as a possible precursor of Alzheimer's disease. Together with British researchers, he discovered the pathogenic prion that causes BSE, also known as mad cow disease, in 1998.

Awards

Bayreuther received the in 1988 and the Feldberg Award in 1989. In 1990, he won the Metlife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer's Disease with Robert D. Terry and was awarded the Potamkin Prize jointly with Masters. Beyreuther and Masters both received in 1991, and shared the in 1995. In 1997 they were awarded the King Faisal International Prize in Medicine together with James F. Gusella for contributions to the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases. Bayreuther has been elected to the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Heidelberg Academy for Sciences and Humanities, and the Göttingen Academy of Sciences. He is a recipient of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg and the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.