PRIZE. Professor Kaj Blennow at the Sahlgrenska Academy has been awarded the Söderberg Prize in Medicine 2016 for his research on Alzheimers disease. He has been awarded the prize of one million SEK for his “uniquely innovative research”.
“I am extremely happy! It is a great honor to receive the Söderberg Prize in Medicine,” says Kaj Blennow.
“It is also very gratifying that this type of clinically tied biochemical research receives attention. Currently there are a number of highly promising drugs that are in the final phase of their clinical trials, and on the day they hopefully become available for patients, there will be an enormous need to be able to diagnose Alzheimers early in the course of the disease.”
“Enormous impact”
Kaj Blennow and his research group have, according to the jury’s motivation, had an enormous impact on Alzheimers research and have, among other things, contributed to the development of new analyses and biomarkers.
According to the jury’s and Swedish Society of Medicine’s Chairman, Kerstin Nilsson, it is thanks to Kaj Blennow’s efforts that these “extremely valuable and common tests are now used in clinical medicine, neurology, geriatrics and psychiatry as well as in drug development worldwide.”
Followed in the footsteps
Kaj Blennow’s goal has been to make their research results available to clinics, and thus his laboratory was the first in the world to introduce these analyses in diagnostic routines. A large number of European countries have since followed in his footsteps and the analysis methods are currently used in the USA, Australia, South America and Japan.
The Söderberg Prize in Medicine 2016 of one million SEK will be awarded by the Torsten Söderberg Foundation. It awards clinical medicine research whose results have been recognized for the past ten years. The prize, awarded since 1986, was given out together with the Ragnar Söderberg Foundation until 2014. Laureates are chosen in cooperation with the Swedish Society of Medicine.
The prize will be awarded at the Swedish Society of Medicine seminar on April 7, 2016.
