Three KI researchers to become Wallenberg Academy Fellows
Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse has selected Christian Göritz, François Lallemend and Ola Larsson at Karolinska Institutet to become Wallenberg Academy Fellows.
Wallenberg Academy Fellows is a carreer programme that provides long-term funding for the most promising young researchers of all disciplines to develop their projects.
In 2013, 33 researchers are to be awarded SEK 5 to 9 million each, spread over five years. They will subsequently be eligible to apply, on a competitive basis, for an additional five years of funding.
"When nerve cells in the brain or the spinal cord are damaged, one can permanent loose body functions. One reason is that scar tissue forms, which blocks the nerve cells from reforming their connections. Christian Göritz wants to find out if scar formation can be manipulated, in order to give the body a chance to repair important nerve pathways."
Read more: Spinal-cord injury scars blocks healing
"Long threads of nerves reach lengthwise and across our bodies. These nerves transduce different sensory modalities and are responsible for movement coordination. François Lallemend will map what controls the formation of this intricate network. For example, how do the right bundles of nerves find each other during development?"
Read more: How is the network of nerve cells shaped?
"One cause of the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells is that the wrong proteins are produced: proteins that make the cells divide far too often. Ola Larsson's aim is to understand the basics of why such faulty proteins are generated."
Read more: A key to the unlimited growth of cancer cells
About Wallenberg Academy Fellows
The programme was initiated by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation in close collaboration with five royal academies and sixteen universities.
Wallenberg Academy Fellows is the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation's largest initiative ever. The plan is fund up to 125 young researchers for whom a potential total of SEK 1.2 billion will be available during 2012-2016.