The award was presented to Djikic at a ceremony in Budapest on Tuesday.
According to the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University from Frankfurt, Djikic has been awarded for his work on a key cellular switch that instructs the cell how to respond to DNA damage, for example by ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. This crucial switch is disturbed in patients with the variant form of Xeroderma pigmentosum, a UV-induced skin syndrome, leading to accumulation of DNA damage and skin tumor development.
This is the first time that a Croatian scientists has been awarded this prestigious award.
Dr. Djikic has published 78 scientific manuscripts in prestigious journals and has received a number of international distinctions for his research including the American Association for Cancer Research for outstanding achievement in cancer research (2006), the Binder Innovation prize (Braunschweig, 2006), member of EMBO (2004), the Fernstrom Price (Lund, 2002), the Swedish Strategic Fund award (Stockholm, 2000), the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds award (Stuttgart, 1997).
Djikic donated the financial part of his award to children with cancer in Croatia.