Alzheimer’s researcher at Uppsala University awarded prize by Queen Silvia
Stina Syvänen at the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, received the Queen Silvia Prize to a Young Alzheimer’s Researcher for her research in molecular geriatrics. The prize was established by the Alzheimer’s Foundation and was awarded by Her Majesty Queen Silvia on 18 May at an international conference on dementia.
Most of us know someone who has been affected by dementia. In Sweden alone, about 160,000 people suffer from some form of dementia. This number is expected to double by the year 2050 – unless a cure is developed before then.
Caring Sciences, Uppsala University
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. Syvänen’s research aims to contribute to the development of effective drugs. Her studies focus on improving imaging methods for the amyloid clumps in the brain that are typical of Alzheimer’s and determining how to improve the uptake over the blood-brain barrier of antibodies targeting amyloid.
In recent yours, scientists have worked purposefully with new antibody formats designed to enter the brain quickly and in large amounts because it is in the brain that they need to be in order to be beneficial.
“I am very honoured to have been awarded the prize,” says Syvänen. “It is an acknowledgement that our work is considered important and it encourages us to continue our efforts to enable use of the new antibodies in clinical settings, so that patients can get better diagnoses and hopefully also better treatment in the future.”
Read more about research in molecular geriatrics
About the prize
The Queen Silvia Prize to a Young Alzheimer’s Researcher was established in 2014 by the Alzheimer’s Foundation (Alzheimerfonden) on the occasion of the Queen’s 70th birthday. The prize is awarded every year to a promising dementia researcher under the age of 40 who has not yet acquired further qualifications for employment as a senior lecturer or professor. A sum of SEK 125,000 is awarded with the prize.
Anna Malmberg