The LEO Foundation Award 2008 – Silver Award
Grantee: Dr. William Agace
Amount: DKK 500,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2008
Geography: United Kingdom
Presented to British researcher William Agace. Agace and his research team investigated the underlying control mechanisms for the processes behind the generation and movement of lymphocytes in the intestines, and identified the factors that determine which are activated and where they go in the intestinal system.
Insight gained from William Agace’s research will enable new and more targeted therapies for ailments such as chronic inflammatory bowel disease, a serious disorder with only limited treatment options available today. William Agace earned his MSc at Bristol University in microbiology, and his PhD in immunology from Lund University. In the late 1990’s, he spent three years as a postdoc at Harvard Medical School. In 2006, he was appointed professor of experimental medical research and head of the immunology section at Lund University. He has published more than 35 original articles and several book chapters.
The LEO Foundation Award 2008 – Gold Award
Grantee: Dr. Lars Norlén
Amount: DKK 1,000,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2008
Geography: Sweden
Presented to Swedish researcher Lars Norlén. Norlén and his team develop new advanced biophysical measuring methods to describe the molecular structure of the skin barrier.
The frontline research of Lars Norlén will contribute to our fundamental understanding of how drugs impact and interact with their target proteins in connection with the treatment of diseases such as psoriasis. Dr. Norlén holds an MD from Karolinska Institutet, and is a group manager for biophysical dermatology at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden. He has worked at universities in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland, and co-authored more than 25 original articles and several book chapters.