Research on work environment and health to receive funding
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Through their jointly owned organisation AFA Insurance, the labour market parties in Sweden are providing over 28 million SEK in funding for nine new research projects dealing with work environment and health. Two of the grants will go to Uppsala University projects looking at new methods for reducing incorrect use of antibiotics and for curing leukaemia and lymphoma.
Every year, AFA Insurance pays out around 150 million SEK to fund work environment and health research. The grants are awarded four times per year. Nine projects have received research funding from the first round of grants for 2016.
Two of the projects will be carried out at Uppsala University:
- Dan I. Andersson at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology has been granted 4.9 million SEK for developing various new approaches for the fast diagnosis and treatment of antibiotics resistant infections. Using a rapid test method, both the species of bacteria and its resistance profile can be determined in only a few hours. It is hoped that the test will extend the life of existing antibiotics and also reduce improper usage.
- Angelica Loskog at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, is to receive a grant of 4.6 million SEK to start up the first academic study in Europe of a new kind of cell therapy for the cancer types leukaemia and lymphoma. The method involves strengthening the patient’s own cells using genetic engineering in order to better recognise cancer cells and kill them.
Anna Malmberg