Mark Hanson receives the Hugo Lagercrantz Award 2026
Professor Mark Hanson at the University of Southampton has received this year’s Hugo Lagercrantz Award. The prize was presented at a ceremony at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna on 16 September, recognising his research on health and development throughout life – with a focus on global health and equity.
Hugo Lagercrantz Award
The Hugo Lagercrantz Award was established in 2019 by The Pediatric Research Foundation at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, in honour of Professor Emeritus Hugo Lagercrantz, a former board member and now an honorary member of the foundation. As in previous years, Hugo Lagercrantz himself presented this year’s award.
Mark Hanson is considered one of the pioneers in research into the development of the foetus and newborn child, and how factors early in life affect health much later on. He describes this as “the first chapter of life” – how foetal life and early development shape our health throughout life, both before and around birth.
Biological and environmental factors
In his research, Hanson has particularly studied how biological and environmental factors early in life can increase the risk of diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and obesity later in life. He has also worked to identify biomarkers that can be used to stratify risk and prevent future cardiometabolic disease, meaning diseases that involve the heart, blood vessels and metabolism.
In connection with the award ceremony, Hanson gave the lecture "Promoting Early Nutrition for Lifelong Health and Potential", in which he presented parts of his research on early nutrition and its importance for health and development throughout life.
The award citation highlights Hanson’s extensive research on development and health across the life course, starting even before conception, and his increasing focus on global health and equity.
The Children's Research Foundation at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital
The Children's Research Foundation at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital is a non-profit foundation that raises and distributes funds for paediatric research and provides information about childhood diseases. The foundation supports research that can quickly benefit clinical care. The board works entirely on a voluntary basis, and a scientific council decides which researchers receive grants. Its close links with Karolinska Institutet and Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital mean that new knowledge can be quickly put to use in healthcare.