Cothenius Medal is a medal awarded by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (known as the Leopoldina) for outstanding scientific achievement during the life of the awardee.^[1] The medal was created to honour Christian Andreas Cothenius, who was the personal physician to Frederick the Great.^[2] In 1743, Cothenius became a fellow of the Leopoldina, later president of the learned society that had been created by Emperor Leopold I.^[2] When Cothenius died, he left a sum of money in his will to the society with the condition that the interest on the money should be used to award a gold medal, every two years by answering a question in medicine whereby some new truth could be established.^[2] Up until 1864, the award came with a prize but was then converted into an award for the promotion of research over the whole period of a person's life.^[3] Each medal bears the Latin inscription "Praemium virtutis salutem mortalium provehentibus sancitum" (Created in recognition of the ability of those who promote the good of mortals).^[1]