IN MEMORIAM. Professor Nils Lycke, a prominent researcher in the field of mucosal immunology, has died at the age of 68. Here, his colleagues share reminiscences to mark his passing, describing him as a generous and energetic scientist, who truly loved academic research.
On 23 October 2022 our dear colleague and friend, Nils Lycke, suddenly passed away. The shockwaves of Nils passing echoed through local, national and international immunology communities, particularly the mucosal immunology community where Nils has been a very active and esteemed member for decades.
Nils was a “Göteborgare” through and through. He grew up in this city amid the academic lifestyle he himself came to love as a physician-scientist, no doubt inspired by his father Erik. Following his medical studies at GU, Nils became a licensed physician in 1983 and specialized in Clinical Immunology. He pursued his PhD at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology under the mentorship of Jan Holmgren and in 1986, defended his PhD on immunity to cholera toxin. This turned out to be the beginning of a long and very productive career in mucosal immunology. An important driving force in Nils’ passion for his field was no doubt due to his postdoctoral time at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where, after receiving a prestigious Fogarty Postdoctoral Fellowship, he spent two years under the mentorship of renowned mucosal immunologist Warren Strober. Warren and Nils remained close friends and colleagues through the years, and the warm message Warren conveyed at Nils’ recent retirement event touched us all.
After returning to Gothenburg, Nils obtained research positions funded by the Swedish Research Council (MFR) and in 2000, he was awarded a Professorship in Clinical Immunology and became Head of the Department of Clinical Immunology. The same year, Nils also began a decade-long service at Sahlgrenska hospital as Senior Consultant in Clinical Immunology and Head of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine. Nils research spanned adjuvant and vaccine development and mechanistic studies of vaccine-induced protection against infections in the gastrointestinal-, genital- and respiratory tracts including Helicobacter pylori, Chlamydia trachomatis, Norovirus and Influenza; he also studied autoimmune diseases including arthritis and myasthenia gravis. Nils’ work with adjuvant development to improve vaccine efficacy focused on CTA1-DD, an adjuvant he conceived and patented. Nils’ studies of CTA1-DD are reported in over 40 of his publications, reflecting his ability to combine basic immunology and new technologies with murine models to both develop vaccines and understand how they work.
Nils spread his passion and knowledge in mucosal immunology by participating in international conferences and professional organizations. Indeed, Nils merged his love of mucosal immunology with the city he called home by organizing several international conferences here, including the Scandinavian Society for Immunology, The European Mucosal Immunology Group (EMIG) and the 18th Germinal Center Conference, putting Gothenburg and GU in the limelight. Nils, together with his long-standing friends and colleagues Allan Mowat and Tom MacDonald, established EMIG as an informal, low-cost forum allowing easy access for European scientists to mucosal immunology conferences, not the least for young researchers. Nils organized an EMIG meeting in Gothenburg in 2000 and, with the extraordinary list of international speakers he compiled, the conference was a huge success. That EMIG is still going strong is due to the commitment and “if there’s a will, there’s a way” approach of Nils and his co-founders.
Mentoring scientists at the beginning of their career had a special place in Nils heart. His valuable feedback on grant applications equipped young scientists with the skills to get funding in tough competition. This generous characteristic of Nils is recognized by many in the Department who visited Nils in his office: knocking on his door, a pause before hearing “come in” and seeing Nils at his desk, head down, intently tapping at his keyboard. “Hi Nils, do you have a moment?” “Sure, of course, come in, sit down!” he always replied with great enthusiasm. This reverberates with many of us in the Department who, even though we knew he had a very busy schedule, always felt whole-heartedly welcome by Nils, who made time for each of us that asked.
Supporting young scientists was also a major theme in a hallmark achievement of Nils, namely, his creation of the Mucosal Immunobiology and Vaccine Center (MIVAC), funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF), that Nils directed during 1996-2010. Nils vision of MIVAC was to be a world-leading center for research in mucosal immunology and vaccines. MIVAC promoted new collaborative projects and supported technical and commercialization platforms as well as provided scientific support and leadership training for young researchers. MIVAC included giving PhD student courses in mucosal immunity and sponsoring an open, international seminar series. The seminar series Nils started during MIVAC continues to be a very important part of our academic environment and is a great tribute to Nils love of research.
Nils retirement in February of this year capped his formal career marked with nearly 200 peer-review research articles, dozens of reviews and book chapters as well as mentoring over 30 young scientists as PhD students and postdocs. Nils expertise in mucosal immunology was recognized internationally and he took on demanding tasks including Editor for Mucosal Immunity and Specialty Chief Editor of Mucosal Immunology for Frontiers in Immunology. He also shared his vast knowledge in immunology with undergraduate and graduate students as a teacher in several courses. In the typical, energetic style of Nils, he was also an entrepreneur. He holds five patents, founded two biotech companies, MIVAC Development AB and Toleranzia AB, and was a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry. Nils’ research was funded by VR, Cancerfonden, WHO, NIH and EU. Indeed, being the great networker that he was, Nils was involved in several EU-funded projects and successfully lead the Universal Flu Vaccine, UNIVACFLU. Under Nils leadership, this Marie Curie Network for Initial Training succeeded in establishing a long-term European network based on a new cohort of young professionals. This is yet another example of Nils commitment to provide opportunities for young scientists.
Both Nils and his wife Susanna Lycke Cardell have been long-standing, important and very active members of our Department. It was only 4 months ago that we celebrated their retirement in an event highlighting their careers. Despite being retired, Nils continued to be active writing manuscripts, collaborating in ongoing projects and participating in seminars. He participated in our most recent seminar in the series he created where, in his true love for science, regardless of the topic, he asked curious questions and was engaged in the discussion. Nils scientific knowledge, joy in the research process, passion to discuss results and willingness to share his knowledge with others makes him a valued colleague to us all. He will be truly missed.
Mary Jo Wick for the Department of Microbiology and Immunology
I am saddened and shocked by the news of Nils’s unexpected passing. I was Nils’s 3rd Ph.D. student, from 1990 through 1995. We lost touch over the years, but I was always hoping to see and talk to him again. The words I wrote in the Acknowledgements’ section of my thesis perhaps describes best my gratitude for him hiring and supporting me:
“My supervisor, Dr. Nils Lycke, for all his scientific support, time and efforts during these years, for leading me through the labyrinths of the intestine, introducing me to the dark boxes of Immunology, sharing his expert knowledge in Mucosal Immunology, actively participating and enlightening us in all our Journal Clubs, and help and encouragement to participate in international conferences.”
Nils was a true academic scientist, who was passionate about Immunology, and without a doubt he would have contributed much more to the field had he stayed with the world longer.
He literally made me an Immunologist. I regret not having spent more time with him after 1995. May he rest in peace.
Very shocked to hear of his passing. He was an inspirational scientist and mucosa immunology advocate. He will be sorely missed.