Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia the focus of new Wallenberg Clinical Scholar
Professor Richard Rosenquist Brandell at Uppsala University’s Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology is one of this year’s two new Wallenberg Clinical Scholars. His area of research is development of infrastructure for large-scale investigation of cells and their genetic material. As a Wallenberg Clinical Scholar, he will systematically study blood cancer cells to provide better prognoses for those affected and to develop new therapies.
The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation is one of the largest private research funding bodies in Europe. Swedish research receives funding in various scientific fields via a number of research programmes. One of these programs is Wallenberg Clinical Scholars, which supports and encourages some of the most successful clinical researchers at Swedish universities and university hospitals.
“The aim of the programme is the long-term strengthening of Swedish, patient-oriented, clinical research,” says Peter Wallenberg Jr, Chairman of the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
Wallenberg Clinical Scholar 2017 – Richard Rosenquist Brandell:
Richard Rosenquist Brandell has boosted the development of hypermodern infrastructure for the large-scale investigation of cells and their genetic material. As a Wallenberg Clinical Scholar, he will use this technology to systematically study blood cancer cells from different groups of patients and stages of the disease. Why do some cancer cells more or less lie dormant, while others grow aggressively? Why do some cancer cells die from chemotherapy, while others spread unhindered despite treatment?
Patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia are affected very differently. Some do not need treatment, while others die in a few years. To better understand the different faces of the disease and to find more effective treatments, Richard Rosenquist Brandell will study the properties of blood cancer cells in the finest molecular detail.
One important aim of the project is to provide better prognoses for those affected. Who will need intensive treatment and which pharmaceuticals will have the best effect on the afflicted cells? Another aim is to be able to develop new therapies to combat this as yet incurable disease.
Anna Malmberg