Gonçalo Castelo-Branco receives the Hans Wigzell Research Foundation’s science prize amounting to SEK 925,000.
The Hans Wigzell Research Foundation (Hans Wigzells Forskningsstiftelse) awards its annual scientific prize to Professor Gonçalo Castelo-Branco at Karolinska Institutet (KI). Professor Gonçalo Castelo-Branco receives the prize of SEK 925,000 for his important research around oligodendrocytes – a cell type which plays important roles in relation to how the human brain develops and functions.
In his research, Professor Castelo-Branco has shown how a cell's DNA can be controlled to develop into an oligodendrocyte. These cells have a significant role in how myelin, the insulating substance around certain nerve cells, in the brain is produced. His research has already helped build a better understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) and can hopefully also lead to improved therapy against this difficult disease.
Rhenman & Partners Asset Management is the initiator and founder of the research foundation.
For further information, please contact:
Hans Wigzell's Research Foundation
E-mail: hw@forskningsstiftelse.se
+46706521908
About Gonçalo Castelo-Branco
Dr. Gonçalo Castelo-Branco is a Professor of Glial Cell Biology at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Dr. Castelo-Branco received his PhD in Medical Biochemistry in 2005, working on development of dopaminergic neurons and neural stem differentiation. He completed post-doctoral fellowships first at the Karolinska Institutet and then at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, working in neural and pluripotent stem cells and chromatin. Dr. Castelo-Branco started his research group in 2012, focusing on the molecular mechanisms regulating the epigenomic states of oligodendrocyte lineage cells in neuroinflammatory and demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), using technologies such as single cell transcriptomics and epigenomics, among others. The long-term goal of his group is to build a solid platform of convergent knowledge and know-how on the epigenetics of (re)myelination and neuroinflammation, which will allow to establish innovative regenerative strategies for neuroinflammatory diseases such as MS. Dr. Castelo-Branco has received many prestigious awards and grants, including the European Research Council Consolidator Grant, the Swedish Society for Medical Research (SSMF) 100 years Jubileum Prize, The Eric K. Fernström prize 2021 and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Göran Gustafsson Prize 2021 in Medicine.
About Hans Wigzell
Professor of Immunology, Karolinska Institutet
Former President of Karolinska Institutet, Chairman of KI’s Nobel Committee, Director General of the Infectious Diseases Institute and National Bacteriological Laboratory. Hans is also a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences IVA.
About the Hans Wigzell Research Foundation
The foundation promotes its support of scientific research and education in the medical field, in particular through scholarships and other grants. It will also organize and/or support seminars and conferences. Foundation board: Olle Stenman (chairman), Dan Hoflund and Magnus Carlsson.
About Rhenman & Partners Asset Management
Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB ("Rhepa") was founded in 2008 and is a Stockholm-based asset manager with a focus on the healthcare sector. Rhepa is responsible for the portfolio of a sector fund registered in Luxembourg. The fund is managed by FundRock Management Company S.A. who has commissioned Rhepa to manage the fund's portfolio. Rhepa's experienced investment team is supported by a scientific advisory board consisting of medical experts with a global network of researchers and specialists.
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