Inauguration of a new centre of excellence for life chemistry
The centre’s steering committee, from left to right: Professor Máté Erdélyi, Professor Katja Petzold, Professor Ingela Lanekoff, and Professor Sebastian Westenhoff.
On 12 April 2024, the new Centre of Excellence for Chemical Mechanisms of Life will be inaugurated at Uppsala University. The aim is to create a hub where researchers with different backgrounds and expertise can transcend traditional subject boundaries and find collaborators.
“If we are to gain a deeper understanding of chemical mechanisms in living systems, we need to work broadly,” says Director Ingela Lanekoff, Professor of Analytical Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry-BMC.
The centre is one of five research environments at the university that have received grants as part of the Swedish Research Council’s 2022 Excellence Initiative. Each research environment is receiving between four and six million SEK annually for five years, with the possibility of an additional five years of funding following an evaluation.
The chemistry of life
At the Centre for Chemical Mechanisms of Life, researchers will combine their knowledge of genes, proteins and small molecules to make new discoveries about the chemistry of life. For example, some may study the chemical interactions that control the circadian rhythm. Others may investigate what controls cancer development and progression. The focus is on understanding chemical interactions at a detailed level.
“Life revolves around the resiliency of cells and their ability to compensate in order to preserve a living system. But the detailed chemical levels are still quite unexplored,” says Ingela Lanekoff.
Work across borders
The hope is to be able to connect more researchers and research teams to the centre, both nationally and internationally. The centre will also organise courses, workshops and seminars.
“Anyone who wants to get involved and work across borders to understand various areas of the chemical mechanisms of life is welcome.”
Anneli Björkman
Centre for Chemical Mechanisms of Life
- The inaugural event will take place on 12 April 2024
- The Centre for Chemical Mechanisms of Life is one of five excellent research environments at Uppsala University that have received grants from the Swedish Research Council. The funds will go to long-term programme activities in which researchers from different disciplines collaborate on a theme or issue. This is the core around which they will build a centre for research and education activities.