The 2024 Sven och Ebba-Christina Hagberg Prize is awarded to Bahira Shahim and David Marlevi
The Board of Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagberg's foundation has decided to award Bahira Shahim and David Marlevi the foundations personal prize and a research grant, for a total of SEK 650,000 each. The prize will be awarded at the annual Installation Ceremony at the Karolinska Institutet in October 2025.
David Marlevi, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, is awarded "for his research on developing cardiovascular imaging technology for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease"
David Marlevi is a researcher in cardiovascular imaging, which involves imaging for improved understanding of the cardiovascular system, and how medical images can be used to better diagnose cardiovascular disease. His research team uses several different so-called imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT). A large part of his work also focuses on so called medical image analysis, where trained neural networks or techincal analysis tools are used to better identify and interpret physiological phenomena from acquired image data.
Bahira Shahim at the Department of Medicine, Solna, is awarded for her studies on "Mechanisms and Treatment of Mitral Valve Disease and its Associations with Life-Threatening Arrhythmias."
Mitral valve prolapse is a common (≈1 in 40 individuals) heart valve disorder in which the leaflets of the left heart’s mitral valve bulge abnormally into the left atrium during cardiac contractions, potentially causing valve leakage that requires surgery. Among some individuals, mitral valve prolapse can lead to heart failure, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. Risk factors for arrhythmias include fibrosis in the heart muscle and improper attachment of the valve to the heart wall. However, how these factors are influenced by surgery remains unclear, and the mechanisms behind the disease are still poorly understood.
The aim of the studies is to assess the relationship between mitral valve disease and life-threatening arrhythmias, as well as how surgery affects this relationship. Using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, different stages of heart muscle fibrosis and their link to arrhythmias are mapped, while tissue samples from the heart muscle and diseased valves are used to study the molecular mechanisms. If valve surgery can reduce early stages of fibrosis and arrhythmias, valve surgery should be offered earlier to patients at a higher risk of arrhythmias. The research can also open up for treatments to slow down disease progression.
The purpose of the Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagberg Foundation is to stimulate and promote scientific research, preferably in the medical and biochemical fields, and each year awards research support to a female and male prominent young researcher in Sweden. The Foundation's grants and awards go to the different categories every two years. In nomination matters, the foundation collaborates with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Karolinska Institutet.
Sven Hagberg (1894-1961) was a civil engineer and grain chemist. He developed a new method for measuring baking properties of flour. The method, "Hagberg Falling Number", is used worldwide today. Ebba-Christina Hagberg (1900-1972) was involved in association work and shared her husband's interest in foreign cultures.