Eklund Foundation Announces 2024 Grant Recipients
The Eklund Foundation for Odontological Research and Education is pleased to announce the two projects receiving this year’s funding.
The Eklund Foundation supports dentistry related research projects for the ninth consecutive year. The two selected projects, which are to be conducted at the Sigmund Freud University in Vienna, Austria and at Karlstad University in Sweden, respectively, will together receive funding amounting to approximately €275,000.
Joel Eklund, Chairman of the Board, Eklund Foundation, says, “This year, we are happy to announce the foundation´s support of two highly relevant studies that both have the potential to partly revise the view on how disease and prevention is managed by the dental and health care professions. The research groups receiving the support represent different specialties within dentistry and medicine, and they have been selected among a large number of applications submitted from all over the world.”
The Eklund family, owners of TePe Oral Hygiene products, created the Eklund Foundation to celebrate their long-standing relationship with the professional dental community. Since 2016, the foundation has distributed up to €275,000 annually, supporting dental research worldwide. More information on previous grant recipients and their studies can be found at www.eklundfoundation.org. The next application period starts in the spring of 2025.
The Eklund Foundation has decided to award grants to the following projects:
The Oral Health project within the IBD Prognosis study
Main applicant: Kristina Bertl, Associate professor, Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Medicine, Sigmund Freud University Vienna
Co-applicants: Andreas Stavropoulos, Professor, Department of Periodontology, Malmö University; Johan Burisch, MD, PhD, Gastroenheden, Hvidovre Hospital & Copenhagen Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Children, Adolescents and Adults; Hermie J.M Harmsen, Associate Professor, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, University Medical Center Groningen; Klas Göran Sjöberg, Adjunct Professor, Gastrosektionen, Skånes universitetssjukhus; Björn Klinge, Professor emeritus, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.
Funding: €162,000
Reasoning: “The project represents multidisciplinary research within a highly relevant area where researchers will investigate the impact of oral health on the disease course, severity, progression, and treatment response of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). It is assessed that the study results will lead to an increased understanding of the underlying mechanisms that connect oral health to the disease course of IBD and its response to treatment. Ultimately, the study can lead to positive insights that can benefit the large patient population suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease on a global level, and the results may in the future help health care providers choose “the right treatment for the right patient, at the right time”.”
Comprehensive Assessment of Resilience and Early Childhood Dental health in 6-year-olds (CARE-Kids) – views from parents in vulnerable areas
Main applicant: Mersiha Velic, Dental Hygienist, Master in Oral Health Sciences, PhD student, Department of Health Sciences, Karlstad University
Co-applicants: Ulrika Lindmark, Professor of Oral Health Sciences; Ann-Catrin André Kramer, Assistant professor in Oral Health Sciences; Louise Persson, Assistant professor in Public health sciences – all co-applicants represent the Department of Health Sciences, Karlstad University.
Funding: 1,277,546 SEK (approximately €112,560)
Reasoning: “The project addresses the problem with Early Childhood Caries (ECC) that is seen, despite preventive programs, in especially vulnerable areas. The researchers will in the study explore the protective factors among 6-year-old caries free children that could promote other children's oral health and prevent early childhood caries in other families. The study will increase the knowledge and understanding around why some children do not develop caries while others do, and is assessed to potentially have an impact on the view on caries prevention on an international level.”
For more information, please contact: Maria Swartling-Jung, Communications Manager, +46 40 670 11 00, maria.jung@tepe.com
The Eklund Foundation was established in 2015 to support research and education in the odontological field. It rests on a donation of MSEK 50 by the Eklund family, owners of the Swedish company TePe Oral Hygiene Products. More information is available at eklundfoundation.org.
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