The Olof Rudbeck Day 2023 attracted hundreds
This year’s Olof Rudbeck Prize awardee, Ann-Christine Syvänen, received her award with pomp and circumstance. Kerstin Westermark, Chair of Upsala Läkareförening, handed out flowers and a diploma. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.
Once again, the Olof Rudbeck Day proved to be a well-attended event this year. The focus of this year’s edition was on the experiences and lessons learned from the pandemic. Additionally, Ann-Christine Syvänen was honoured with this year’s Olof Rudbeck Prize for her contributions to genomics.
On Friday, 20 October, this year’s Olof Rudbeck Day took place, featuring a line-up of renowned researchers, professors, and experts as speakers.
The theme of the year, ‘After the pandemic – what have we learnt?’, drew hundreds of attendees to the Grönwall Hall at Uppsala University Hospital. Furthermore, nearly 450 people tuned into the event through the live broadcast throughout the day.
“It was great to see a packed Grönwall Hall and over 400 digital participants. The programme was fantastic with excellent speakers, and it felt like this year's Olof Rudbeck Day was perfectly timed with the COVID theme,” summarizes Mats Larhed, Vice-Rector of the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy at Uppsala University.
“The Olof Rudbeck Day, which would have celebrated its 25th anniversary this year if not for the interruption caused by COVID-19, was one of the most successful events I’ve experienced. Any apprehensions regarding the potential overuse of this year’s theme were completely unfounded. The Grönwall Hall was brimming with engaged attendees, including professionals and the general public, and the time for questions and discussions proved insufficient. The fact that this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to the mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 further exemplified the perfection of our chosen theme,” says Kerstin Westermark, Chair of Upsala Läkareförening.
Not only researchers and professors
The day commenced with opening remarks from Mats Larhed and Kerstin Westermark, before the first speaker of the day, Josef Järhult, Professor of Infectious Diseases and Infectious Disease Physician at Uppsala University Hospital, initiated the lectures.
The panel discussion with former patient Fredric Cederblad, Intensive Care Physician Miklós Lipcsey, Intensive Care Nurse, Ing-Marie Larsson, and Magnus Svartengren, Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, was highly appreciated. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.
It wasn’t just researchers and professors participating during the day. Another aspect of the pandemic that was highlighted was how healthcare functioned, and the packed hall had the opportunity to hear stories from the patient and paediatrician Fredrik Cederblad, along with the Intensive Care Physician Miklós Lipcsey, Intensive Care Nurse Ing-Marie Larsson, and Magnus Svartengren, Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
“The patient and staff accounts from Uppsala University Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic were incredibly interesting and informative to take part of. But the whole day had a great variety, with excellent diversity in presenting both patient and societal perspectives as well as new scientific studies. It’s impressive that the entire spectrum could be included in the programme without the day feeling fragmented,” says Mats Larhed.
Ann-Christine Syvänen this year’s awardee
The Olof Rudbeck Day 2023 concluded in the traditional manner with the presentation of the Olof Rudbeck Prize and the recipient’s lecture. This year’s awardee was Ann-Christine Syvänen, Professor in Molecular Precision Medicine, who provided an in-depth account of her over four-decade-long research career in genetics and clinical genomics, including the development of the so-called minisequencing method for SNP analysis.
”Presenting the 2023 Olof Rudbeck Prize from Upsala Läkareförening to Professor Ann-Christine Syvänen was an immensely enjoyable experience for me as the Chair. As early as 2001, she established a technical platform at Uppsala University to unravel the genetics underlying various diseases. The objective was to develop novel diagnostic tools and introduce genomics into clinical research and healthcare. Today, the SNP&SEQ platform ranks among the largest units within SciLifeLab. Over the years, the platform has been involved in numerous research projects from both Swedish and international research groups, leading Ann-Christine Syvänen to contribute to several significant international studies on various diseases,” Kerstin Westermark summarizes.
Robin Widing
About the Olof Rudbeck Day
The Olof Rudbeck Day is an annual event designed to promote and disseminate knowledge about current medical research. The organisers include Upsala Läkareförening, Uppsala University Hospital, and the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy at Uppsala University.