André Mateus, MIMS team leader, awarded the Karl Freundenberg Prize

Written by Nóra Lehotai and André Mateus.

The Karl Freudenberg Prize was established in 1986 to mark the 100th birthday of Prof. Dr. Karl Freudenberg by the Freudenberg Group. It goes to scientific work in the field of natural sciences – especially chemistry and biology. This year the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften (Heidelberg Academy of Sciences) announced that it is shared between Dr. Kelvin Anggara and Dr. André Mateus.

Photo: André Mateus. Credit: Christine Wegler. 

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MIMS Spotlight Series: Meet Claire Sayers

Written by Nóra Lehotai and Claire Sayers.

I interviewed Claire Sayers, who is a postdoctoral researcher in the Billker group. She left behind her parents in Tasmania, and twin brother in Western Australia, to join first the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK, then MIMS in Umeå in May 2019. What brings her so far away from home? It is Claire’s passion and openness for science and the world.

Picture: Calire Sayers. Credit: Claire Sayers.

Read more: MIMS Spotlight Series: Meet Claire Sayers

Female sex hormone may protect against death in COVID-19

Text after the original press release written by Ola Nilsson.

The female sex hormone oestrogen may have some protective effect against becoming seriously ill and dying in COVID-19, according to a registry study conducted at Umeå University. The study, now published in BMJ Open, was lead by Dr. Anne-Marie Fors Connolly, MIMS Clinical Research Fellow as the senior author, and Dr Malin Sund, professor at Umeå University, as the first author. If so, this could explain why men are more likely than women to die during the pandemic.

Picture: Dr Malin Sund (left) and Dr Anne-Marie Fors Connolly (right). Credit: Mattias Petterson.

Read more: Female sex hormone may protect against death in COVID-19

MIMS Spotlight Series: Meet Dhirendra Kumar Singh

Written by Nóra Lehotai and Dhirendra Kumar Singh.

Dhirend joined MIMS in January of 2020 as a fresh postdoc, just escaping the travel limitations of the soon starting corona virus pandemic. He was born in India and for his PhD studies, he chose to study in a small but beautiful town, Szeged, in Hungary. He has been living also in Italy and for the next few years, he is enjoying living in Umeå, in Sweden.

Picture: Profile photo of Dhirendra Kumar Singh. Credit: private photo of Dhirendra Kumar Singh. 

Read more: MIMS Spotlight Series: Meet Dhirendra Kumar Singh

Welcome Anna Överby Wernstedt as the next MIMS Deputy Director

Written by Nóra Lehotai. Photo: Anna Överby Wernstedt. Credit: Mattias Petterson.

From January 2022, Anna Överby Wernstedt is the new Deputy Director of MIMS, taking over this role from Prof. Maria Fällman.

“I am very much looking forward to being more involved and helping both the existing MIMS groups, its leadership, but also the new group leaders grow”-says Anna. “I know from my own personal experience that coming to Umeå as a new group leader, not knowing anyone and not knowing what it takes to be a group leader, is a jungle one can get lost in. I would like to be there for them to help.” 

 Anna Överby Wernstedt joined MIMS initially as one of the junior MIMS group leaders recruited according to the EMBL model. At the end of her term, she took a position at the Department of Clinical Microbiology as associate professor in virology. Her research is focusing on different aspects of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) to identify molecular pathways that determine how tick-borne encephalitis infects the host and spread through the brain.

Read more: Welcome Anna Överby Wernstedt as the next MIMS Deputy Director