Linnaeus Medalist and Rudbeck Medalists announced

Uppsala University’s Linnaeus Medal was first awarded on 23 May 2007 in connection with the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus. The gold medal is conferred “for, in particular, truly outstanding scientific achievement, especially in the Linnaean subject areas or fields related to the legacy of Linnaeus”.

The 2023 Linnaeus Medal has been awarded to Mattias Jakobsson, Professor of Genetics at the Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University. Award rationale:

Mattias Jakobsson is being honoured for his research on population genetics and human evolution. In his research, he uses computational methods to describe complex patterns of human genetic variation in both modern and historical populations. Jakobsson has made important contributions to research on the origins of modern humans and on historical colonisation and migration on the Eurasian landmass and in sub-Saharan Africa.

Rudbeck Medal

Uppsala University’s Rudbeck Medal was first awarded in 2003. The medal was instituted the preceding year on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the death of Olof Rudbeck the Elder. It is awarded “for extraordinarily prominent achievements in science, to be conferred primarily for such accomplishments or findings attained at Uppsala University”.

The 2023 Rudbeck Medal has been awarded to Professors Annica Black-Schaffer, Gunilla Enblad and Neil Price. Award rationales:

Annica Black-Schaffer is Professor of Materials Theory at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, where she heads the Quantum Matter Theory research programme. Her research concerns materials for which quantum mechanical effects determine the properties. The focus is on gaining a fundamental understanding of phenomena through modelling and calculations, rather than developing materials in practice. In particular, Black-Schaffer has studied superconductivity, i.e. the conduction of electrical current without any resistance. She investigates different types of superconductivity in materials to understand why some materials are superconducting, as well as so-called topological phases in materials. One example is topological superconductors, which have the potential to be used in quantum computers.

Gunilla Enblad is Professor of Oncology at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology and heads a research group focusing on lymphoma. She is a medical researcher with strong clinical roots. Her preclinical research has mainly concerned the tumour biology of lymphoma and the interaction between the tumour cells and the surrounding immune cells in the tumour microenvironment. She has thus contributed to the improved treatment of relapsed Hodgkin’s lymphoma and the development of CAR-T cell immunotherapy for lymphoma, improving the prognosis of patients with this disease.

Neil Price is Professor of Archaeology at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History. He has a long history of innovative research focusing on the Scandinavian medieval and Viking periods and the Pacific region’s modern history of colonialism and conflict. His archaeological research is truly global. In 2015, he was awarded a Distinguished Professor Grant by the Swedish Research Council as part of the ten-year excellence programme “The Viking Phenomenon”, which examines the Nordic Viking Age from new perspectives using the spectacular finds from Uppland and Salme in Estonia. The results to date of the research into this symbolic period have attracted considerable national and international attention. Price has created a renowned research environment at Uppsala University, involving researchers and doctoral students from different disciplines and universities around Europe and the Pacific region.