SRC investing SEK 30 million in the Faculty of Pharmacy’s research

Per Andrén, Georgy Bakalkin, Thomas Dorlo, Lena Friberg, Margareta Hammarlund Udenaes, Lindon Moodie, Luke Odell and Anna Orlova

Per Andrén, Professor of Mass Spectrometry Imaging, is awarded SEK 3.6 million distributed over 2023-2026 for his project Exploration of neurochemical changes associated with L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson´s disease by mass spectrometry imaging.

Per Andrén heads of one of the world's leading facilities for Mass Spectrometry Imaging that in 2021 was recruited to SciLifeLab's national resource Spatial Omics.Professor Andrén is director of a research group that recently published new findings on the adverse effects of L-Dopa therapy of Parkinson's disease.

Georgy Bakalkin, Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, receives SEK 4.8 million over 2023-2026 for his project Vänster-Höger sid-specifik neuroendokrin signalering i grundläggande neurovetenskap och neurologi.

“In an international collaboration with researchers in Portugal, Denmark and Russia, we have identified that hormones from the pituitary gland may contribute to movement disorders caused by brain injury. Our results suggest that hormone-blocking, body side selective treatments can limit motor deficits, for example, after a stroke, which we will now explore further,” says Georgy Bakalkin.

Thomas Dorlo, researcher in Pharmacometry, is awarded SEK 2.4 million distributed over 2023-2025 for his project Precisionsmedicinska verktyg för den försummade tropiska sjukdomen visceral leishmaniasis.

“That the Swedish Research Council chooses to finance our research on precision medicine tools for the neglected tropical disease Leishmaniasis is a major boost for our newly initiated Pharmacometrics for Global Health research team,“ states Thomas Dorlo.

Lena Friberg, Professor of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics, receives SEK 5.47 million over 2022-2024 for her project Etablering av en modellerings-plattform för att möjliggöra klinisk läkemedelsutveckling av antibiotika mot multiresistenta patogener: Från kanin till klinik.

“Antibiotic resistance is one of the most common causes of death in the world and the prognosis remains bleak. To reverse this development, we must all work together, and earlier this year we began establishing a new interdisciplinary research environment, uniting four research groups at Uppsala University, Karolinska Institutet and Umeå University, and this grant is of course providing new opportunities and valuable inspiration to take on the important challenge we face,” says Lena Friberg.

Margareta Hammarlund Udenaes, Professor em. at the Department of Pharmacy and researcher with focus on Translational PKPD, is awarded SWK 2.4 million distributed over 2023-2025 for her project Cellulära membrantransportörer och endotelheterogenitet vid utveckling och prevention av cytostatika-inducerad perifer neuropati (PreventCIPN).

"The Faculty of Pharmacy’s research environment for Translational PKPD is in a positive generational shift, and we recently arranged the successful conference Translating PKPD – (Retro)Perspectives that provided our junior researchers room to expand their international networks. The Swedish Research Council's grant gives me the opportunity to take part in this exciting development, but also to continue following a number of highly interesting research leads,” says Margareta Hammarlund-Udenaes.

Lindon Moodie, Associate Professor at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and researcher with a focus on Organic chemistry, receives SEK 3.84 million over 2023-2026 for his project Nedbrytning av bakteriella målprotein.

“Our group is interested in identifying and developing anti-infective drugs.  Finding new antibiotics to counter antimicrobial resistance is a particular focus but its a tough challenge and conventional methods often fail. So sometimes its good to try some outside of the box strategies. One approach we are interested in is trying to trick bacteria into degrading their own essential proteins, and this funding from The Swedish Research Council will allow us to explore this,” states Lindon Moodie.

Luke Odell, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, is awarded SEK 3,6 million distributed over 2023-2026 for his project Nya och innovativa kemiska verktyg för avbildande masspektrometri, kemisk biologi och läkemedelsutveckling.

“With the development of a new class of chemical compounds, our research team has laid the foundation for Mass Spectrometric Imaging of the brain's neurotransmitters. This technique is currently used at universities and companies all over the world and is enabling important new discoveries. The Swedish Research Council's grant strengthens our resources to both develop new tools and to adjust our already existing compounds for new areas,” says Luke Odell.

Anna Orlova, Professor at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, receives SEK 4,8 million over 2023-2026 for her project Kombinerad målinriktad radionuklidavbildning och målinriktad terapi - ett sätt för precisionsbehandling av prostatacancer.

"When a prostate tumor begins to spread, the metastases are initially so small that they are not visible on magnetic resonance imaging. Thus, we need a way to visualise every tumor before they grow too big. Our main clue is two trace elements, GRPR and PSMA, which are formed during the early stages of prostate cancer. Now, our team has developed a substance that binds specifically to GRPR, and by attaching radionuclide to the substance, the smallest metastases can be located to where a SPECT or PET camera indicates increased uptake of radioactivity. We have also developed a molecule that binds to both trace elements during all phases of the tumor, and if only one of our two leads proves successful, we hope to provide healthcare the tools needed to help all men suffering from prostate cancer to longer and better lives,” says Anna Orlova.