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Leif C. Groop Young Scientist Scholarship

Diabetes researcher Leif Groop is globally recognized for his contributions to diabetes research. This scholarship is awarded as a tribute to him. The young scientist scholarship aims to inspire young diabetes researchers to reach for high levels of novelty, quality, impact, and relevance in their scientific work.

Lund University annually awards a scholarship of 200,000 SEK, which is intended to support research at Lund University. This scholarship supports excellent diabetes research to be performed by young scientists who are making important scientific contributions to improve our understanding of diabetes and its complications. Such scientific advances can ultimately improve the situation for patients with diabetes, change clinical practice, and prevent the disease from developing.

The scholarship of SEK 200,000 was supported by Novo Nordisk Scandinavia AB from 2022 to 2024. 

Eligibility

The applicant must be affiliated with Lund University and must have been awarded a PhD degree no more than eight years prior to the announcement of the scholarship.

Applications are evaluated based on 1) the scientific excellence of the research proposal in the area of diabetes and is complications, 2) the project’s feasibility within two years based on access to the required infrastructure, and 3) the competence and merits of the applicant.

Call for applications

The call for applications is open until December 1, 2023, and recipients will be publicly announced in February the following year. An awards ceremony will be held in conjunction with the Diabetes research day, organised by DPLU, in February. The recipient of the scholarship will give a lecture at the research day related to the awarded research project.

Reviewing committee

Four experienced scientists on diabetes research are appointed on a yearly basis by Lund University Diabetes Centre (LUDC), including the chair of the committee, and up to two representatives from Novo Nordisk Scandinavia.

Members of the reviewing committee

João Duarte, Chair, Lund University
Anna Blom, Lund University
Karin Stenkula, Lund University
Philipp Kaldis, Lund University
Nils Ekström, Novo Nordisk

The application should include the following documents:

1. Application form
2. Project proposal: maximum of 5 pages including figures and references. Please use a legible font and a font size of at least 10 points. Sections must comprise aim(s), background, preliminary data, methods and study design, project timeline, budget, scientific novelty, and significance for diabetes.
3. Two-page resume of the applicant.

Previous winners of the Leif C. Groop Young Scientist Scholarship

Sevda Gheibi received the scholarship of SEK 200,000 for a project that aims to investigate how the molecule ACSL1 influences insulin secretion. An important ambition with this research is to identify therapeutic targets to help people with type 2 diabetes manage their condition better.

Among several applications proposing original and novel research projects of high scientific quality, Sevda Gheibi's proposal was the one considered to be most feasible as a postdoctoral research project.

Sabrina Ruhrmann received the funding of SEK 200,000 for a project that aims to discover epigenetic changes that cause type 2 diabetes. The long-term goal is to investigate if it is possible to use the CRISPR/dCas9 system to correct these epigenetic changes. In the future, the knowledge may be used to target epigenetic mechanisms for treatments of type 2 diabetes.

Among the applications received, Sabrina Ruhrmann's application was considered to be the strongest in terms of scientific quality, significance, and novelty by the reviewers.

Rodrigo Cataldo received the funding of SEK 200,000 for a project on beta cell metabolism. In his project, Rodrigo Cataldo is studying the role of a specific protein in beta cells and the molecular mechanisms behind its action. His project may lead to a better understanding of metabolic pathways that are altered in type 2 diabetes.

The reviewing committee considered that Rodrigo Cataldo’s application stood out from the others for its novelty and originality and the high scientific quality of the proposed research project.

Contact

Ulrika Blom-Nilsson
Administrator
ulrika [dot] blom-nilsson [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se
+46 40 39 12 01
+46 07 680 399 72
 

Portrait of Leif Groop. Photograph.

Leif Groop

Leif Groop, born 1947, worked as professor of endocrinology at Lund University from 1993 until retirement and was one of the founding members of Lund University Diabetes Centre (LUDC). He graduated as a physician at University of Bern, Switzerland, and did his PhD at the University of Helsinki. Leif Groop is globally recognized for his contributions to diabetes research, including pioneering work on genetics and heterogeneity of type 2 diabetes.