Award Ceremony and Lectures on Monday September 20 at 12 noon
The Minerva Foundation’s Medix Prize 2021 is awarded to an article published in Cell by research groups of the University of Helsinki: Maternal Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Cesarean-Born Infants Rapidly Restores Normal Gut Microbial Development: A Proof-of-Concept Study. Korpela K, Helve O, Kolho KL, Saisto T, Skogberg K, Dikareva E, Stefanovic V, Salonen A, Andersson S, de Vos WM. Cell. 2020; 183(2):324-334.e5
The award lecture will be in the area of gut microbiota. Media release is published on September 20, 2021.
The Medix Prize by the Minerva Foundation is an important annual award for internationally high-level Finnish medical research. The Medix Prize is, in a manner of speaking, the Finnish championship for biomedicine. This year the Medix Prize will be awarded for the 34rd time.
The Medix Prize is awarded by the University of Helsinki, and is donated to the university by the Minerva Foundation, which funds the Minerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research at Biomedicum Helsinki.
The Medix Prize is awarded annually for an excellent Finnish scientific study published as one article during the previous year (now 2020). The study has to represent biomedicine or clinical medicine and to be performed entirely or in its essential parts in Finland. The Rector of the University of Helsinki or his representative will give out the prize in the autumn of 2021. The venue and date of the event are announced in due course. At the prize awarding event the winner will give a lecture on the content and significance of the awarded article. The prize is awarded the 34rd time, the award sum being 20.000 euros.
Proposals for the publication to be awarded shall be sent to the chairman of the prize board, Prof. Vesa Olkkonen at the address vesa.olkkonen@helsinki.fi (deadline 3.5.2021). An electronic copy (PDF) of the candidate publication and preferably a brief statement of justification (max. 1 page) shall be attached to the proposal. The publication may have one or several authors; In the latter case the prize will be shared among the authors. Review articles are not eligible for the prize; Of Ph.D. theses compiled of several articles only the individual original publications can be considered for the prize. Scientists’ proposals for awarding their own work are also welcomed.
From Selma and Maja-Lisa Selander’s fund 15-20 grants are awarded. The deadline for the applications is 3.5.2021 at 16.00. The applications are sent electronically to Professor Vesa Olkkonen, vesa.olkkonen@helsinki.fi.
The application should include the applicant’s CV, publication list and a research plan (max five pages). For Ph.D. students the application should include 1-2 references.
Positions (1-2) for research group leaders (PIs) with their own group are open at the Minerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research, Biomedicum Helsinki, Finland.
The overarching aims of the Minerva Institute are to contribute 1) novel fundamental knowledge and mechanistic insight, 2) innovations for the development of future diagnostic methods, and 3) preventive measures and treatments for common diseases. The Institute’s current focus areas are metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and neurodegenerative or neuropsychiatric disorders. The research aims at elucidating fundamental molecular mechanisms underlying the diseases with “state-of-the-art” technologies ranging from cell cultures and genetically engineered animal models to clinical study of human subjects. Detailed information on the Institute’s research is available at
Minerva Institute will provide the salary of 1-2 group leaders (a 100% research position and/or a 50% researcher position for a clinician) for 5 years, with interim evaluation after 3 years. The contract will be renewable depending on peer-review. In addition to the group leader’s salary, Minerva provides a starting package, laboratory space, basic laboratory supplies and equipment as well as administrative services. The PI is expected to support the group members and the group’s operational activities with external funds.
Applications should be sent to prof. Vesa Olkkonen at vesa.olkkonen@helsinki.fi, by March 15, 2021, and include
1. Information on whether a 100% or 50% position is applied. 2. The applicant’s CV. 3. A full list of publications, with the 10 most important publications highlighted, Web of Science H-index, and citations (excluding self). 4. A research plan for the next 5 years, max 5 pages.
STEM CELLS CAN BE REJUVENATED BY INHIBITING SIGNALS FROM NEIGHBOURING CELLS
The Minerva Foundation’s Medix Prize, worth €20,000, has been awarded to a team researching the rejuvenation of the functioning of aged tissue by inhibiting signals between stem cells and their niche cells. The prize was awarded for an article published in the science journal Nature by a research group from the University of Helsinki. The research group is headed by Associate Professor and Director of the Academy of Finland’s Centre of Excellence in Stem Cell Metabolism Pekka Katajisto.
The mechanism discovered by the research group may represent a safer way to treat gastrointestinal complications in elderly people, reduce the harmful side-effects of chemotherapeutic agents and support the recovery of older patients.
According to the head researcher of the project, PhD student Nalle Pentinmikko, compromised tissue function in elderly people has been known for a good while. In addition, reduced function of stem cells is known to have a role in poor regeneration of old tissues.
“Research has so far focused on the intrinsic mechanisms in the functional decline of stem cell. Our research is amongst the first to examine the role of the neighbourhood, the niche, of ageing stem cells. To our surprise, we discovered that incorrect signals are sent from the niche to stem cells which deteriorates the functional capacity of stem cells and therefore negatively affects their ability to regenerate damaged gut tissue,” Head Researcher Pentinmikko says.
Stem cells require Wnt molecules, which regulate their ability to proliferate. In old tissue, Paneth cells, surrounding the stem cells, produce an enzyme called Notum, which is an extracellular Wnt inhibitor. This results in the decreased regeneration capacity of stem cells which, in turn, negatively affects the recovery of damaged gut tissue. Whereas Notum was already known to researchers, its connection to stem cell biology has now been established for the first time.
The discovery of the mechanism allows for correcting miscommunication between cells by means of pharmacological inhibition or genetic targeting of Notum.
“At the end of the research, we found a pharmacological molecule that may create a basis for future medical treatment. The US-based research group that has developed the molecule had discovered its Notum inhibiting function, but they didn’t know when and where this kind of molecule could be used,” Head Researcher Pentinmikko says.
According to Katajisto’s vision, there could in ten years’ time be treatments and medicines to rejuvenate the stem cells function of elderly patients in such a way that their ability to repair damaged tissue would be closer to that of young tissue.
“This will be of great importance in cancer treatment, for example, where the most commonly used treatments often result in serious damage to healthy tissue, in particular in older individuals. Currently, the risks associated with such harmful side-effects can influence treatment decisions for elderly patients even in cases where the treatment could be beneficial” says Katajisto.
The newly discovered mechanism cannot be used for preventing or curing illnesses, but it can be used for facilitating recovery from certain conditions and the severe side-effects of treatments in the future. The research group has already launched research into the role of Notum in the onset of colorectal cancer.
Caption: The research group used mice and human source materials. Director Pekka Katajisto (rear) observes Head Researcher Nalle Pentinmikko preparing a small intestine dissected from an aged mouse. Photographer: Martti Ahlstén.
The Medix Prize by the Minerva Foundation is an important annual award for internationally high-level Finnish medical research. The Medix Prize is, in a manner of speaking, the Finnish championship for biomedicine. This year the Medix Prize will be awarded for the 33rd time.
The Medix Prize is awarded by the University of Helsinki, and is donated to the university by the Minerva Foundation, which funds the Minerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research at Biomedicum Helsinki.
The prize is awarded annually for excellent Finnish scientific research published as one article during the previous year. The research is to be in the fields of biomedicine or clinical medicine and performed fully or in its essential parts in Finland.
The awardee is selected by a committee consisting of representatives from the universities of Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Eastern Finland and Oulu, who are appointed for three years.
Article published in Nature (login or fee required. Please contact Director Pekka Katajisto if you do not have login data):
Head Researcher Nalle Pentinmikko, +358 (0)40 719 8254, nalle.pentinmikko(at)helsinki.fi Director Pekka Katajisto, +358 (0)40 708 5349. pekka.katajisto(at)elsinki.fi Research group website: katajisto-lab.com
Further information on the Medix Prize and the Minerva Foundation:
Professor Vesa Olkkonen, +358 (0)50 411 2297, vesa.olkkonen(at)helsinki.fi minervafoundation.fi
This media release is distributed by PR Officer Martti Ahlstén Viestintätoimisto Verbi +358 (0)500 582 588 martti.ahlsten(at)verbi.fi
The 2020 Ralph Gräsbeck Scholarship for Research in Laboratory Medicine is awarded to M.D., Ph.D., Panu Luukkonen at Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA. The Ralph Gräsbeck Scholarship is granted to Luukkonen for his research “A mendelian randomization study of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in humans”.
The Ralph Gräsbeck scholarship is awarded every other year for a scientist who has defended his/her doctoral thesis during the past seven years in the field of laboratory medicine and continued innovative and high-quality research in the same field. The amount of the scholarship is 10.000 EUR and this is the second time the scholarship is awarded.
Minerva Foundation 