PRIZE. Associate Professor Karolina Skibicka from the Department of Physiology has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the Young Fernström Prize at Sahlgrenska Academy. Skibicka received the prize for her pioneering studies on the nervous system’s reward mechanisms.
“I’m really grateful—and surprised—to have received this prize. I recognize most of the names of former recipients, and they’re all eminent researchers. I realize I’m in very exclusive company,” says Skibicka in commenting on her selection as this year’s recipient of the Eric K. Fernström Prize for Highly Gifted and Successful Young Researchers.
Skibicka’s research focuses on a hormone called GLP-1, the most well-known function of which is keeping our blood sugar levels in check. For this reason, GLP-1 has primarily been studied by diabetes researchers to date, and the hormone has long been an ingredient in drugs used by diabetics. However, as it turns out, GLP-1 also affects the brain. Skibicka and her colleagues were the first researchers to demonstrate that it also targets the brain’s reward system.
“It was a revolutionary discovery, causing the review process to be drawn-out. Almost everyone who reviewed our manuscript had trouble believing that what we had demonstrated was true, and it took a whole year before the article was accepted. That said, in reality there were also advantages to the lengthy process. By the time it was approved, two other groups had also succeeded in demonstrating the same thing, so other researchers immediately confirmed our results and were able to take them to the next level,” Skibicka explains.
The Search for Amplifiers
GLP-1 has been proven to reduce appetite and promote weight loss, and it is possible that the hormone could be developed into an alternative to obesity surgery, which is currently the only truly effective treatment for morbid obesity. In the US, anti-obesity drugs containing GLP-1 have already been approved, although the hormone’s efficacy as a weight-loss drug has been very limited to date.
“People suffering from morbid obesity can lose ten percent of their bodyweight using the drugs. While it’s good that they drop ten percent, it’s not enough. We’re now looking for ways to amplify GLP-1’s effect, so we can create a more powerful drug for combating morbid obesity,” says Skibicka.
One possible way of amplifying GLP-1’s effect is combining it with another hormone—the female sex hormone estrogen. “After menopause, women have a greater tendency to put on weight; a phenomenon that seems to be connected to the significant decrease in estrogen levels that they experience,” Skibicka explains.
Estrogen increases the risk of developing breast cancer, however, although this problem can be avoided in several ways. One way is to create a composite molecule in which the estrogen is bonded with GLP-1, thus delaying its release until the molecule reaches the specific cell targeted by GLP-1.
“I collaborate with a group in Germany that can produce this kind of molecule. The idea is that GLP-1 will serve to bind the estrogen, allowing us to achieve highly selective estrogen signaling,” she adds.
Skibicka originally hails from Warsaw, Poland, but moved to the US at a young age, where she lived in a number of different states. She received her undergraduate degree in microbiology from the University of South Florida. Originally she had intended to research bacteria and viruses, but a course in neuroscience sparked her interest in the brain. She explains: “The enormous complexity of neurons and the way their function translates into behavior immediately piqued my curiosity. It was a perfect fit for me! I set my sights on winning a position as a graduate student in neuroscience and, much to my surprise, I received a number of offers. I had no prior experience in the field, you see. I chose the University of Pennsylvania for my research studies. My tutor, Professor Harvey Grill, really inspired my interest in the field.”
Eager to Cooperate Locally
Seven years have passed since Skibicka first arrived at the University of Gothenburg. Her move to Gothenburg was mostly inspired by her home life; her then boyfriend (and now husband) is originally from the area. When she first began working as a postdoc in Suzanne Dickson’s group, the couple only planned on staying for a few years before moving back to the US, but Skibicka found that she enjoyed life in Gothenburg and at Medicinareberget. She explains:
“I’m part of a metabolic physiology unit founded quite recently, and all the research groups are located on the same floor of the Physiology Building. Many of the group leaders are relatively young, and we’re eager for our groups to cooperate. We’re all interested in obesity, but focus on different organs. Cooperating gives us a holistic perspective in our research.”
She goes on to explain that she really enjoys cooperating within the unit: “I get the impression that many researchers place a higher value on international collaborations than on local ones. I think international contacts are important, but you can also benefit a lot from finding really good local collaborators.”
Skibicka’s research is experimental and requires both space and many assistants. She uses mice and rats as animal models, and these occupy two whole rooms at the Laboratory for Experimental Biomedicine (EBM).
“We’re interested in how behavior is connected to appetite, and so study the animals’ feeding behavior: How often do they eat? How much do they eat? How rewarding do they find meals with various compositions? We also investigate the link between obesity and depression. If we can understand this link, we can also improve our understanding of obesity and depression as separate phenomena,” explains Skibicka.
Skibicka’s group currently consists of six staff, most of whom are postdocs, and she expects to need to expand the group further.
The brain’s ability to adapt never ceases to amaze Skibicka, and it is also her greatest challenge: “If we down-regulate a system in the brain, it often doesn’t take long before another system up-regulates and begins to compensate. I expect that studying the reward system will keep me occupied for my entire research career.”
References:
GLP-1 and estrogen conjugate acts in the supramammillary nucleus to reduce food-reward and body weight. Vogel H, Wolf S, Rabasa C, Rodriguez-Pacheco F, Babaei CS, Stöber F, Goldschmidt J, DiMarchi RD, Finan B, Tschöp MH, Dickson SL, Schürmann A, Skibicka KP. Neuropharmacology. 2016
Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor induced suppression of food intake, and body weight is mediated by central IL-1 and IL-6. Shirazi R, Palsdottir V, Collander J, Anesten F, Vogel H, Langlet F, Jaschke A, Schürmann A, Prévot V, Shao R, Jansson JO, Skibicka KP. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013
The glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogue, exendin-4, decreases the rewarding value of food: a new role for mesolimbic GLP-1 receptors. Dickson SL, Shirazi RH, Hansson C, Bergquist F, Nissbrandt H, Skibicka KP. Journal of Neuroscience. 2012
About Eric K. Fernström
Eric K. Fernström was born in Karlshamn in 1901. He began his career as a successful manager for his family’s granite company, whose black dolerite covers the base façade of the Empire State Building in New York. In 1978, the Eric K. Fernström Foundation was founded to promote medical scientific research. The Foundation presents prizes to outstanding medical researchers. Among other awards, the Foundation annually presents six prizes of SEK 100,000 each to young, highly promising, and successful researchers. One researcher from each of Sweden’s six medical schools is recognized.
Former Gothenburg recipients of the Young Fernström Prize:
2015 Jonas Nilsson
2014 Mattias Lorentzon
2013 Marie Lagerquist
2012 Joakim Larsson
2011 Henrik Zetterberg
2010 Fredrik Bäckhed
2009 Maria Falkenberg Gustafsson
2008 Martin Bergö
2007 Anne Uv
2006 Suzanne Dickson
2005 Milos Pekny
2004 Tommy Nilsson
2003 Klas Blomgren
2002 Håkan Olausson
2001 Johan Wessberg
2000 Jan Borén
1999 Jan Oscarsson
1998 Claes Ohlsson
1997 Kjell Olmarker
1996 Henrik Hagberg
1995 Christer Betsholtz
1994 Pam Fredman
1993 Staffan Edén och Sven-Erik Ricksten
1992 Patrik Rorsman och Göran K Hansson
1991 Ann-Marie Svennerholm och Christopher Gillberg
1990 Sven-Olof Olofsson
1989 Göran Bondjers
1988 Bengt Rippe
1987 Bengt Gustafsson och Holger Wigström
1986 Olle Isaksson och Ulf Smith
1985 Håkan Ahlman och Kent Lundholm
1984 Peter Thorén
1983 Per-Olof Jansson och Catharina Svanborg Edén
1982 Lars Hamberger och Lars Rymo
1981 Jörgen Engel och Per Lundborg
1980 Annica Dahlström
1979 Carl-Anders Karlsson och Åke Hjalmarsson
