Anders Clausen, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Cell Biology, is among twelve young scientists to receive the 2015 Ingvar Carlsson Award. As a result, he has been granted SEK 4 million for his studies of RNA building blocks that are incorporated in DNA.
Dr. Clausen recently joined Sahlgrenska Academy following an extended postdoctoral training period at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in North Carolina. The institute is part of the National Institutes of Health and a global leader in DNA replication. He learned to master next generation sequencing and developed a novel method to map ribonucleotides throughout the genome.
“The ability of RNA building blocks to be stably incorporated in DNA was discovered only a few years ago – now we know that it is actually quite a common phenomenon,” Dr. Clausen says. “Every copy of the genome incorporates more than one million RNA blocks in DNA.”
Looking for a connection to cancer
Built-in RNA blocks are believed to serve natural positive functions in the genome: RNA blocks can control cell differentiation so those blocks can act as a kind of switch, and they can function as a marker that tells the cell which parts of the DNA have been copied improperly and need to be replaced, but the RNA blocks may also have negative consequences for DNA.
“Lars Palmqvist and I are working on determining whether there is any connection to cancer,” Dr. Clausen says. “I have already obtained samples from mice that have developed leukemia, but I need to expand my team before the effort can start up in earnest.”
The analyses generate large quantities of data that require bioinformatics expertise. One postdoctoral fellow will join the group over the summer. The grant from the Ingvar Carlsson Award will allow Dr. Clausen to recruit an additional one this fall. A PhD student and a master’s student are likely to come onboard as well.
Dr. Clausen, who hails from Århus, obtained his PhD in Lund. His primary reason for moving to Gothenburg was the DNA replication and RNA transcription research already under way there, particularly by teams under the direction of Maria Falkenberg and Claes Gustafsson.
“RNA and DNA research has carved out a leading international position here,” Dr. Clausen says. “Since I am interested in both fields, there is no better place for me to be.”
About the Ingvar Carlsson Award
The Ingvar Carlsson Award, which was given for the sixth time this year, includes a SEK 4 million research grant. The ex-prime minister established the award when he was the CEO of the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research. The main purpose of the award is to support young repatriated postdoctoral fellows who hope to embark on an independent, innovative research career in Sweden. The twelve scientists who received this year’s award will be participating in a leadership program.
“The Ingvar Carlsson Award offers promising young scientists the opportunity to strike roots in Sweden based on the skills and experience that they have acquired at a foreign university,” says, Lars Hultman, the foundation’s current CEO, in a press release. “We have great expectations for this new generation.”
Learn about all twelve winners:
http://www.stratresearch.se/sv/Press/2015/12-unga-forskare-far-dela-pa-drygt-48-miljoner-/
