Leading US Cancer Researcher Receives New Swedish Science Prize

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Genetics
Article Date: 30 Jan 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The American cancer research pioneer Professor Robert A Weinberg is the first recipient of the science prize inaugurated by the foundation set up by Swedish scientists Georg and Eva Klein. The prize was awarded in person by Crown Princess Victoria at a ceremony in Stockholm on 29 January 2008. The prizewinner, who is a leading international researcher in his or her field, is invited to Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm for two weeks to give lectures and forge links with research leaders, postgraduates and visiting researchers.

Professor Weinberg works at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has made a number of pioneering discoveries in basal tumour biology. His research demonstrates, for example, how genes and the proteins they control combine to convert a healthy cell into a cancer cell. He has also made important discoveries on how tumour suppressant genes (TSGs) can prevent the development of tumours. Understanding these processes will make it easier for scientists to find effective treatments for different kinds of cancer.

"Robert A Weinberg is a cancer researcher with an extremely high international reputation," says associate professor Marie Arsenian Henriksson at Karolinska Institutet. "We are very pleased that he agreed to come to Sweden to talk about his research."

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Karolinska Institutet is one of the leading medical universities in Europe. Through research, education and information, Karolinska Institutet contributes to improving human health. Each year, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. For more information, visit http://ki.se/

Source: Sabina Bossi
Karolinska Institutet