Nenad Ban: Breakthrough Against the Coronavirus
In 2020, Prof. Dr. Nenad Ban and a group of Swiss researchers identified a mechanism by which Sars-CoV-2 takes control of human cells. This mechanism causes cells to reduce the production of their own cells, while the production of virus cells is accelerated.
This groundbreaking discovery by Nenad Ban, Professor of Structural Molecular Biology at ETH Zurich, of how the coronavirus secures the multiplication of viral proteins instead of the cell’s own proteins, offered and still offers a starting point for vaccine and drug development against the coronavirus. The Jung Foundation awarded the Croatian molecular biologist with the Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine in 2017, highlighting his pioneering research on understanding the structure and function of macromolecules. With his significant discoveries, the molecular biologist was able to reveal the molecular structure of fatty acid synthases, fungi, mammals, and more.