Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagberg Prize
The purpose of the Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagberg Foundation is to stimulate and foster scientific research within the medical and biochemical fields respectively. Each year, an award is made of a personal prize as well as financial support to young researchers who have distinguished themselves in their particular field.
The foundation’s grant and prize, in alternate years, go to the two different categories of medicine and biochemistry. Where questions of nomination for the awards are concerned, the Foundation collaborates with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) and Karolinska Institutet.
Sven Hagberg (1894-1961) was a graduate engineer and cereal chemist. He developed a new method for measuring the baking characteristics of flour. This method, called the "Hagberg Falling Number", is now in use the world over. Ebba-Christina Hagberg (1900-1972) was involved in organisational work and shared her husband’s interest in foreign cultures. The couple had no children of their own but bequeathed their property to the Foundation.
Prize winners 2024 - Bahira Shahim and David Marlevi
David Marlevi, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, is awarded "for his research on developing cardiovascular imaging technology for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease"
David Marlevi is a researcher in cardiovascular imaging, which involves imaging for improved understanding of the cardiovascular system, and how medical images can be used to better diagnose cardiovascular disease. His research team uses several different so-called imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT). A large part of his work also focuses on so called medical image analysis, where trained neural networks or techincal analysis tools are used to better identify and interpret physiological phenomena from acquired image data.
Bahira Shahim at the Department of Medicine, Solna, is awarded for her studies on "Mechanisms and Treatment of Mitral Valve Disease and its Associations with Life-Threatening Arrhythmias."
Mitral valve prolapse is a common (≈1 in 40 individuals) heart valve disorder in which the leaflets of the left heart’s mitral valve bulge abnormally into the left atrium during cardiac contractions, potentially causing valve leakage that requires surgery. Among some individuals, mitral valve prolapse can lead to heart failure, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. Risk factors for arrhythmias include fibrosis in the heart muscle and improper attachment of the valve to the heart wall. However, how these factors are influenced by surgery remains unclear, and the mechanisms behind the disease are still poorly understood.
The aim of the studies is to assess the relationship between mitral valve disease and life-threatening arrhythmias, as well as how surgery affects this relationship. Using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, different stages of heart muscle fibrosis and their link to arrhythmias are mapped, while tissue samples from the heart muscle and diseased valves are used to study the molecular mechanisms. If valve surgery can reduce early stages of fibrosis and arrhythmias, valve surgery should be offered earlier to patients at a higher risk of arrhythmias. The research can also open up for treatments to slow down disease progression
Previous prize winners at KI
2022 - Cristiana Cruceanu and Hugo Zeberg
Cristiana Cruceanu at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology was awarded the prize "for her studies on how fetal brain development is affected by maternal stress and other environmental factors during pregnancy"
Hugo Zeberg at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology was awarded the prize "for his studies on how gene variants inherited from Neanderthals influence occurrence of severe complications from Covid-19"
News article: The 2022 Sven och Ebba-Christina Hagberg Prize is awarded to Cristiana Cruceanu and Hugo Zeberg | Karolinska Institutet
2020 - Elizabeth Arkema and Marcus Buggert
Elizabeth Arkema at the Department of Medicine in Solna was awarded the prize “for her population-based studies concerning the inflammatory disease sarcoidosis”.
Marcus Buggertat the Department of Medicine in Huddinge received the award "for his studies on specific populations of T cells and their importance for our defense against viral infections."
News article: The Sven och Ebba-Christina Hagberg Prize 2020 is awarded to Elizabeth Arkema and Marcus Buggert | Karolinska Institutet
2018 - Petter Brodin and Ljubica Matic
Petter Brodin, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, was awarded the prize for his studies concerning immune system development in newborn children.
Ljubica Matic, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, received the Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagberg prize for her studies concerning molecular mechanisms of smooth muscle cell function in atherosclerosis.
2016 – Katja Petzold and Simon Elsässer
Katja Petzold, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics (MBB), was awarded the Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagberg prize for her discoveries concerning RNA structure and function using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and other biophysical techniques.
Simon Elsässer, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics (MBB), received the prize for his discoveries concerning epigenetic silencing mechanisms involving histone modifications.
2014 – Emma Andersson and Robert Månsson
Emma Andersson was awarded the prize for her work concerning how the Wnt and Notch signalling pathways control differentiation and morphogenesis during embryonic development. It is important to gain an understanding of these signalling pathways, since a range of diseases can arise when they do not function properly during development. Dr Andersson is doing important research into Alagille syndrome, a genetic disorder that arises in early childhood and affects the liver, heart and kidney.
Robert Månsson was awarded the prize for his work concerning early haematopoiesis and three-dimensional genomic architecture, and the relationship between this higher order genomic organization of genes and transcriptional regulation. He is particularly interested in genes that are involved in the development of blood cells. The overall aim of his work is to gain a greater understanding of normal blood cell development why some genetic mutations cause blood cancers.
2012 – Pernilla Lagergren and Rickard Sandberg
Pernilla Lagergren, at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, was awarded the prize for her research on health-related quality of life after surgical treatment of tumors, especially esophageal cancer.
Rickard Sandberg, at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, was awarded the prize for his mapping of genome regulation, which has led to new insights on gene activity. His new genomic approach is pioneering basic research and has great potential to improve clinical diagnostics.
2010 - Marie Carlén and Luca Jovine
Marie Carlén at the Department of Neuroscience, received the prize for her application of an ultramodern light-based technique that revolutionises medical science's knowledge of how the brain works and the causes of brain conditions such as schizophrenia.
Luca Jovine, at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition was awarded for his research on conception at a molecular level.
2008 – Jonas Muhr and Kirsty Spalding
Jonas Muhr at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, was awarded for his study of the regulation of stem cells in the brain.
Kirsty Spalding at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology was awarded for her research into the formation of new brain cells.