Well attended when the Faculty of Pharmacy inaugurated its new Professors

(Image removed) Sara Mangsbo and Luke Odell, new Professors at the Faculty of Pharmacy

The second week of November, the annual inauguration lectures were held at Uppsala University, and Wednesday afternoon it was Dean Mathias Hallberg's turn to welcome the Faculty of Pharmacy's new Professors to the podium in a well-attended hall IX. First in line was Sara Mangsbo, Professor of Protein and Antibody Drugs, who presented her research on pharmacologically controlled immune defense and her widely recognized method Adaptable Drug Affinity Conjugate, which is currently paving important ground in the search for a way to vaccinate against cancer.

“Of course, we sometimes have to take a temporary step back, but our group, just like the entire immunotherapeutic field, are moving forward rapidly, and we are without a doubt facing an exciting future as the integration between pharmacology and immunology continues to open new opportunities, said Sara Mangsbo.

(Image removed) Luke Odell, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry

Luke Odell, new Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, lectured on New chemical tools for more efficient drug development – a hopeful theme considering the fact that only 1 out of approximately 200 promising substances make it all the way to approved drug, that each success require an average of 20 years of work and investments equivalent to SEK 25 billion. Luke Odell's research group has already developed a chemical molecule that visualizes previously invisible processes in the brain via mass spectrometry. And more innovations are underway:

“Via PET, we are able to map radioactive molecules in living tissue, which is used successfully in, among other things, cancer diagnostics. We have now developed a molecule with potential to measure development and treatment effect in diabetes, and expect to take it into clinical trials already in early 2024. In parallel, we are creating components for the production of new molecules, which provide important tools in, above all, early drug development,” noted Luke Odell.

At the Inauguration of Professors in the Uppsala University Main auditorium 17 November, Maria Kjellsson, Professor of Pharmacokinetics, gave the lecture The best dosage of a fistful of drugs (Bästa doseringen av en näve läkemedel). In the Main auditorium, Maria represented the entire Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy as she presented pharmacokinetics from a popular science perspective.

“The fact that we are inaugurating three Professors that conduct research in both exciting and completely different fields is an obvious statement of strength for our entire Faculty. It is an extra bonus that Maria Kjellsson was given the honorable task of representing both Faculties of Pharmacy and Medicine. And I must once more highlight that the Department of Pharmacy with the inauguration of Maria and Sara as the first department ever at our Faculty has more women than men among its Professors, which provides inspiration for us all,” states Dean Mathias Hallberg.

FACT INAUGURATION OF PROFESSORS 2023

• The Inauguration of Professors is open to the public.
• The Inauguration of Professors 17 November is filmed but not live streamed. 

LEARN MORE

• Inauguration of Professors at Uppsala University
• Inauguration of Professors 2023
• Research in Biopharmaceuticals at Uppsala University (Mangsbo)
• Research in Pharmaceutical Physical Chemistry at Uppsala University (Odell)
• Research in Pharmacometrics at Uppsala University (Kjellsson)

CONTACT

(Image removed) Sara Mangsbo, Professor
Department of Parmacy
Sara.Mangsbo@farmaci.uu.se

(Image removed) Luke Odell, Professor
Department of Medicinal chemistry
Luke.Odell@ilk.uu.se

(Image removed) Maria Kjellsson, Professor
Department of Parmacy
maria.kjellsson@farmaci.uu.se

text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt, private