In May we celebrate one of the world's biggest science prizes - the Swedish Crafoord Prize
This year's Crafoord Days approaches! We hereby welcome the Crafoord Prize Laureates to Sweden - three international top researchers in their areas. Crafoord Days starts in Lund on May 16 with the Laureates own lectures, continues in Stockholm with a symposium and ends with an award ceremony where Crown Princess Victoria hands over the prize.
During Crafoord Days there are several opportunities to do individual interviews with the Laureates, in Lund from May 15 and in Stockholm later that week. Prize lectures and seminars are also open to journalists.
The Crafoord Prize, which is worth SEK 6 million, is one of the world's largest scientific prizes. The disciplines are chosen so as to complement those for which the Nobel Prizes are awarded.
Please contact Press Officer Jessica Balksjö Nannini for requests for interviews, or register for lectures, at jessica.balksjo@kva.se, or +46 70 673 96 50.
This year's three Laureates are Shimon Sakaguchi from Japan and the Americans Fred Ramsdell and Alexander Rudensky who get the Crafoord Prize in Polyarthritis.
"The opportunity presented by the Crafoord Days to meet with colleagues, to recall the early days of this discovery and to see how far we’ve come is quite exciting. It will also be wonderful to meet with members of the academy and other scientists and discuss their work - and for me, it will be a great honor to describe the history and approach to the non-scientists as it is a fascinating story", says Fred Ramsdell, one of the Laureates.
The research being rewarded deals with the discovery of regulatory T cells, cells that can be regarded as our immune system’s security guards. They put a brake on cells that are overzealous and attack the body’s own tissue. There are hopes that their discoveries will lead the way to new, highly effective treatment methods for autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, MS and type 1 diabetes.
More information on the year's price can be found here.
Every year, grants are also awarded for research in the field of the Crafoord Prize. The Crafoord grants 2017 are:
Kajsa Wing, Karolinska Institutet, for the project "The role of CTLA-4 and Foxp-3-mediated regulation in arthritis".
John Andersson, Karolinska Institutet, for the project "FOXP3 and CTLA-4: how isoforms regulate immunological tolerance".
Anna Rudin, University of Gothenburg, for the project "Regulatory T-cells and follicular regulatory T cells in early human rheumatoid arthritis before and after four different treatment strategies".
Nils Landegren, Karolinska Institutet, for the project "Autoimmune disease studies in Treg deficient patients".
Crafoord Days Program:
Prize lectures
The Laureates present their research
Location: Lux, Lund University, Helgonavägen 3, Lund
Time: May 16, 9.30 am - 12.20
Price Symposium
The Laureates and invited speakers hold lectures on the subject of polyarthritis
Location: Beijer Hall, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Lilla Frescativägen 4A, Stockholm
Time: May 17, 08.30 am - 5.40 pm
Http://www.kva.se/Kalendarium/2017/the-crafoord-prize-symposium-in-polyarthritis/
Award ceremony
The Laureates and the receivers of the Crafoord grants receive the prize from Crown Princess Victoria's hand.
Registration is compulsory!
Location: Beijer Hall, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Lilla Frescativägen 4A, Stockholm
Time: May 18, 4.30 pm – 5.30 pm
The Crafoord Prize in astronomy and mathematics, biosciences, geosciences or polyarthritis research is awarded in partnership between the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Crafoord Foundation in Lund. The Academy is responsible for selecting the Crafoord Laureates. The prize sum of SEK 6 million makes the Crafoord Prize one of the world´s largest scientific prizes.
Press contact:
Jessica Balksjö Nannini, Press Officer, phone +46 8-673 95 44, +46 70-673 96 50, jessica.balksjo@kva.se
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, founded in 1739, is an independent organization whose overall objective is to promote the sciences and strengthen their influence in society. The Academy takes special responsibility for the natural sciences and mathematics, but endeavours to promote the exchange of ideas between various disciplines.