Gilead Sciences Announces Awardees of the Nordic Fellowship Programme 2024

Gilead Sciences is pleased to reveal the 2024 Nordic Fellowship Programme awardees, continuing its commitment to support innovative Nordic research aimed at transforming patient care.

"We are proud to continue our ongoing tradition of supporting patient focused research initiatives in the Nordics with our grant to this year’s exceptional researchers and their innovative projects," says Pascal van Peborgh, Sr. Director Medical Affairs Nordics at Gilead Sciences. "Their work embodies our commitment to advancing healthcare and improving patient outcomes. We look forward to following the impact of their research on patient care and scientific understanding in the years to come."

The Fellowship Programme 2024 supports projects across three key therapeutic areas: Cell therapy, Virology, and Oncology, reinforcing Gilead's commitment to advancing scientific knowledge and improving patient outcomes. The awarded projects and researchers are:

Cell therapy: pushing boundaries in cancer treatment

Two projects have been selected in the rapidly evolving field of cell therapy.

Sirpa Leppä's, MD, professor at University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Finland, research aims to uncover how cellular level host response to CAR-T therapy is associated to different outcomes. This work could potentially increase the effectiveness of CAR-T therapies and enabling more cure to patients.
Oscar Brück, MD, PhD, HUS, Finland, is developing an artificial intelligence-based system to analyze various aspects of blood cell types in multiple myeloma bone marrow. This innovative approach could enhance treatment strategies for multiple myeloma patients, aiming at higher and longer remission rates.

Virology: addressing gaps in women's health

Two projects focusing on women with HIV have received funding:

Nadine Jaschinski's, MD, Research Fellow, Rigshospitalet Copenhagen, Denmark, large-scale, prospective cohort study across Europe and Australia will investigate cardiovascular disease in women with HIV. This research addresses a significant knowledge gap and could lead to improved screening recommendations and better overall care for women with HIV.
Ditte Scofield's, MScH, PhD student, Amager og Hvidovre hospital, Denmark, study will examine symptoms and psychosocial health during menopause among women with and without HIV in Nordic countries. This project aims to enhance the understanding of unique challenges faced by aging women with HIV, potentially leading to improved support and care strategies.

Oncology: advancing personalized medicine and biomarker discovery

In the field of oncology, three diverse and promising projects have been awarded support:

Máté Szilcz, Postdoctoral Researcher, Karolinska Institute, Sweden, will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the incidence, prevalence, survival, and characteristics of metastatic breast, urothelial, and lung cancers in Sweden. The results are expected to provide valuable real-world data on cancer populations before and after the introduction of immunotherapies.
Ioannis Zerdes, MD, PhD, Karolinska Institute Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden is investigating biomarkers in early triple-negative breast cancer to predict the benefit of adding immunotherapy to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This research could pave the way for more personalized treatment approaches and potential de-escalation strategies.
Ilkka Liikanen's, MD, PhD, HUS, Finland, research focuses on studying inflammatory serum protein signatures as prognostic biomarkers for early-stage triple-negative and HER-2 positive breast cancers. The findings could lead to the development of simple, serum-based risk-stratification tools and reveal potential novel treatment targets, which could improve breast cancer care.

Continuing a Tradition of Supporting Research

By providing funding for more than 100 research initiatives since 2013, each aimed at improving patient care and advancing scientific understanding, the Gilead Sciences Nordic Fellowship Programme has been a much-appreciated contributor to medical research in the Nordics.