Mariann Bienz facts for kids

Mariann Bienz (born 21 December 1953) is a famous scientist from Switzerland and Britain. She is a molecular biologist. This means she studies the tiny parts inside living things, like cells and DNA. She works at the UK Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology.

Since 1991, Mariann Bienz has been a Senior Scientific Staff member there. From 2007 to 2008, she was a leader in the Cell Biology section. Since 2008, she has been a Group Leader in the Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry Division.

Early Life and Education

Mariann Bienz grew up in Winterthur, Switzerland. She went to Gymnasium Winterthur for her schooling. Later, she studied at the University of Zürich. There, she learned about Zoology (the study of animals) and Molecular Biology. In 1981, she earned her PhD. A PhD is a very high university degree that shows someone is an expert in their field.

Career and Research

After finishing her PhD, Mariann Bienz did more research at the LMB. This is called postdoctoral research. It means she continued to learn and work on new scientific projects.

In 1986, she went back to Zürich. She became an assistant professor at a university. By 1990, she was an associate professor. In 1989, she also became a member of the EMBO. This is a group for top scientists in Europe who study life sciences.

Mariann Bienz is married to another scientist, Sir Hugh Pelham. They got married in 1996.

Awards and Honours

Mariann Bienz has received several important awards for her scientific work:

• In 1989, she became a member of the EMBO.
• In 1990, she won the Friedrich Miescher Prize from the Swiss Biochemical Society. This award is given to young scientists in Switzerland for excellent biochemistry research.
• In 2003, she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very old and respected group of top scientists in the United Kingdom.
• In 2006, she became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci). This group honors leading medical scientists in the UK.