Five young Uppsala researchers named Wallenberg Academy Fellows

The Wallenberg Academy Fellows is a new careers programme aimed at promising young researchers in all disciplines. Apart from providing the researchers with long-term funding, the programme contributes to increased internationalisation of the Swedish research environment. Out of a total of 30 chosen researchers, ten are currently working abroad but will now be coming to Sweden to continue their scientific work.

‘It is very pleasing to now announce the first Wallenberg Academy Fellows. The programme, which is the Wallenberg Foundation’s largest initiative to date, is a long-term investment in our universities and young promising researchers from both Sweden and abroad’, says Peter Wallenberg Jr, vice chairman of the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

The grants provide between SEK 5 million and 7.5 million per researcher over five years. After the first period the researchers can apply for another five years’ funding. The researchers have been recruited using a process which is meant to stimulate competition and mobility among young researchers. The initiative also includes a mentorship programme with the goal of strengthening the researchers in their scientific leadership and giving them knowledge and experience to be able to make better use of research findings.

About the programme: Wallenberg Academy Fellows is Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundaton’s moste extensive initiative ever. The programme is intended to include up to 125 young researchers in the period 2012–2016 – providing up to SEK 1.2 billion. The programme has been set up in close cooperation with five royal academies and 16 Swedish universities.

In total 126 researchers were nominated by the Swedish universities, out if which 41 were working at universities abroad. The academies have evaluated the nominees and presented the most promising researchers to the Wallenberg Foundation, who have then made the final selection. The universities have now made a long-term commitment to the selected scientists and their research.

Here are the five young researchers at Uppsala university who will be Wallenberg Academy Fellows:

• Damian Dowling, Monash University in Australia (will be moving to Uppsala University)
• Johan Elf, SciLifeLab Uppsala, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
• Gustaf Gredebäck, Department of Psychology
• Mia Philipson, Department of Medical Cell Biology
• Charlotte Platzer-Björkman, Department of Engineering Sciences