Dr. Zhongwei Xu Awarded the 2025 Crafoord Prize Research Grant

Dr. Xu’s research aims to uncover the key mechanisms driving rheumatoid arthritis and based on these findings, to develop novel therapeutic strategies. Zhongwei and his team engineered a series of recombinant antibodies targeting a crucial protein in cartilage, type-II collagen. These antibodies have demonstrated remarkable protection against inflammation in animal models of rheumatoid arthritis (nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41561-7). Currently, his work focuses on translating these findings into clinical applications using humanized mice with precise insertions of human alleles - a superior alternative to traditional transgenic mouse strains for preclinical research (nature.com/articles/s41435-024-00313-3).

Dr. Xu earned his MD from Sichuan University in China and PhD from Karolinska. Concerning the alignment between clinical practice and basic research, he believes that “they share the same ultimate goal to minimize patient suffering." Reflecting on the impact of his work, Zhongwei notes, "Had Mr. Holger Crafoord been able to benefit from our new monoclonal antibodies, his later years might have been far less burdened by suffering."

The Crafoord Prize is one of the world's most prestigious scientific awards, complementing the Nobel Prize by recognizing research in fields not covered by the latter. It is awarded annually in one of four disciplines: mathematics and astronomy, polyarthritis, geosciences, and life sciences (with a focus on ecology). In 2025, the Crafoord Prize in Polyarthritis was awarded to Prof. Christopher Goodnow and Prof. David Nemazee “for the discovery of fundamental mechanisms for B cell tolerance”. They shared the prestigious prize of 6,000,000 Swedish kronas.

Alongside the main prize, the Crafoord Foundation also supports emerging scientists worldwide. This year, 5 promising young scientists have been awarded the research grants to advance their fundamental scientific inquiry. Dr. Xu is one of the awardees.