Alexandra Argyriou and Mireia Cruz De los Santos receive the Cilla Weigelt Scholarship for 2022 and 2023
Alexandra Argyriou, doctoral student at the Department of Medicine, Solna and Mireia Cruz De los Santos, doctoral student at the Department of Oncology and Pathology, have been awarded the Cilla Weigelt Scholarship for outstanding research in molecular mechanisms related to rare and under-treated diseases. The scholarships, 50,000 SEK each, will be awarded on November 13.
The Cilla Weigelt Scholarship aims to encourage and support doctoral students researching molecular mechanisms relevant to rare and under-treated diseases. The scholarship recipient must pursue doctoral studies at a Swedish university.
About Alexandra Argyriou:
Alexandra Argyriou has directed her research towards investigating the mechanism leading to the sustained enrichment of T-cells during inflammation in rheumatic diseases, with a primary focus on the rare condition myositis. Alexandra Argyriou has received multiple awards for the best poster presentations at international conferences and has also co-authored two publications in the highly ranked journals Nature Communications and EMBO Molecular Medicine. This research may have implications for a better understanding of why patients do not respond more effectively to immunosuppressive treatments.
About Mireia Cruz De los Santos:
Mireia Cruz De los Santos has oriented her research towards examining the mechanism that results in the enduring enrichment of T-cells during inflammation in rheumatic diseases, with a main emphasis on the uncommon condition myositis. Alexandra Argyriou has been honored with several awards for her outstanding poster presentations at international conferences and has co-authored two publications in the prestigious journals Nature Communications and EMBO Molecular Medicine. This research may hold significance in improving our comprehension of why patients do not respond more effectively to immunosuppressive treatments.
A prize ceremony will be held at Chiesi GRD R&D's premises on Campus Solna (KI area) on November 13, 2023.
About Cilla Weigelt:
Cecilia "Cilla" Weigelt (born Gidlöf) obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Immunology from Uppsala University in 1998. In 2000, she joined the Danish-Swedish biotechnology company HemeBiotech as the Head of Cell Biology. She remained with the company (later renamed to Zymenex, which was subsequently acquired by Chiesi Group in 2013) throughout her career. During this time, she made significant contributions to several drug discovery and development projects focused on the treatment of rare diseases. Cilla always supported younger researchers and was driven by the goal of helping patients who lacked adequate treatment for devastating illnesses. Cilla Weigelt passed away in 2021 at the age of 51 after living with breast cancer for ten years.
About the Cecilia Weigelt Prize:
The Cilla Weigelt Prize has been established by Chiesi (her employer), the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), as well as by friends and family in her memory to support and inspire young doctoral students and to honor her legacy. The prize is administered by the Center for Molecular Medicine Foundation (CMM) at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital. Additional contributions to the prize have been made by Aled Edwards (Toronto, Canada), Johan Weigelt (Stockholm), and MRCS AB (Michael Sundström, Stockholm).