Medical grants go to Uppsala researchers

The Swedish Society for Medical Research (Svenska Sällskapet för Medicinsk Forskning, SSMF) is supporting 34 postdoctoral researchers with a total of SEK 80 million in 2017 through a two-year scholarship. Four of the researchers are active at Uppsala University.

“For a research career that continues to be successful, a postdoctoral education is absolutely necessary. A grant from SSMF provides the opportunity not only to obtain important experiences in a new research setting, but also to establish one’s own network for continued collaborations,” says Mats Ulfendahl, chairman of the board of SSMF.

The postdocs at Uppsala University who are receiving grants are:

• Mohamed Altai, at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, is developing promising new technologies that enhance the effects of targeted drugs for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. By combining targeted agents and cytotoxic radionuclides, he hopes to be able to strengthen the effects against the spread of breast cancer, and to reduce the occurrence of resistance.
• Daniel Espes, at the Department of Medical Cell Biology, wants to stimulate the formation and growth of insulin-producing cells in children and adults with type 1 diabetes. He is investigating the stimulating effect on these cells in a clinical treatment study and during pregnancy.
• Jenny Hesson, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, is investigating the conditions for mosquito-borne infections to become established in temperate parts of the world. Through field studies and experiments on living mosquitos, she will determine what happens in winter when mosquitos are not active.
• Fredrik Rosqvist, at the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, is tracking how the intake of various types of fat in the diet affect fat processing in the liver. These processes will then be related to how much fat is stored in the liver in healthy people.

Read more about SSMF