Professor Zbigniew Izdebski, who is also a lecturer and public health expert, received the award on Wednesday.

The Magnus Hirschfeld Medal has been awarded by the German Society for Social-Scientific Sexuality Research (DGSS) for outstanding contributions to scientific research into sexuality and sexual reform since 1990.

Magnus Hirschfield was a German-Jewish physician and sexologist, considered to be one of the first pioneers of LGBT rights in the early 20th century. His work at the Institute for Sexology proved to be influential and ground-breaking.

The awards have until now gone to experts from the U.S., Austria, Argentina, China, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey and Germany.