VAAM Awards and Honours

The VAAM recognises outstanding achievements in microbiological science with various prizes and awards: 
The VAAM Research Award endowed with 10,000 € goes to young scientists for outstanding current work in the field of general microbiology. The research prize was awarded for the first time in 2008.

In 2021, the VAAM Innovation Award endowed with 5000 € was awarded for the first time to honour outstanding research achievements in the field of applied microbiology. The prize is to be awarded every two years at the VAAM annual meeting. The first awardee in 2021 was Dr. Birgit Hoff (BASF SE), in 2023 it was awarded to Dr. Paul Scholz (BRAIN Biotech AG)
Outstanding microbiological doctoral theses are awarded with the VAAM PhD Awards each year at the VAAM Annual Conference.

With the Hans-Günter-Schlegel Lecture, the VAAM commemorates the important microbiologist Hans Günter Schlegel from Göttingen, whose textbook "Allgemeine Mikrobiologie" (General Microbiology) is still a standard work of microbiological literature today. With the Hans-Günter-Schlegel Lecture, the VAAM honours persons who have rendered outstanding services to microbiology in Germany with their scientific achievements. The person(s) to be awarded should be a VAAM member. The Hans-Günter Schlegel Lecture will also take place during the annual conference.