Ivan Đikić was born in Zagreb in 1966. He is a leading expert in the fields of ubiquitin biology and cancer research, and is a professor at Goethe University Frankfurt and a fellow of Max Planck Society. He maintains an active research lab that enables multidisciplinary teams of scientists to study the molecular principles of life and discover pathological alterations that lead to the development of human diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration and infection. Ivan has received numerous awards for his scientific work, including the Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine and the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, the highest scientific honour in Germany. He is an elected member of the German Academy Leopoldina and the European Academy, as well as an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ivan Đikić is committed to the education of future generations of scientists across the world. His efforts to popularise science among the public have been recognised with the highest civilian state honour, The Order of Duke Branimir, bestowed by the President of Croatia.