The 2nd Lund Spring Symposium – Now also featuring a fireside chat with Dolsten and Lundberg

From 20–22 May, the 2nd Lund Spring Symposium will bring together high-profile international and local researchers, focusing on enabling novel therapeutic principles, major breakthroughs in life science research, and reflections on the future. This year’s edition boasts a prestigious line-up of speakers, at least on par with the inaugural symposium held two years ago.

A recent addition to the programme is a fireside chat featuring Mikael Dolsten, who recently stepped down as Chief Scientific Officer and President of Pfizer Research & Development, alongside Jan M Lundberg, former Head of Research at Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca. The discussion will be moderated by Adam Smith, Chief Scientific Officer at Nobel Prize Outreach, renowned for having interviewed all Nobel Prize laureates since 2006.

This exclusive symposium targets scientists, entrepreneurs, and leading researchers interested in cutting-edge presentations delivered in an engaging and interactive setting designed to broaden perspectives. A common thread among the speakers is their inspirational and transformative research, laying the foundation for novel therapeutic innovations.

According to the organisers – Professors Lars Grundemar of Lund University, together with Mikael Dolsten (Lund University) and Claes Wahlestedt (Lund University and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine) – the event aims to highlight the role of Pharmacology as a cross-functional discipline for the 21st century and to provide a forum for fostering collaboration between academia and industry.

A programme highlight is the recognition of several scientific pioneers through prestigious awards:

• The Bengt Samuelsson Award to Professor Katherine High, Rockefeller University, NY, USA, for her pioneering work in gene therapy.
• The Distinguished Service Award to Professors Jens Juul Holst and Stephen O’Rahilly. Holst co-discovered GLP-1, while O’Rahilly has advanced understanding of genetic and molecular mechanisms in energy balance and metabolism.
• The Lund Spring Symposium Innovator Award to Dr Clive Meanwell, Population Health Partners, USA, for his distinguished career in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
• The In Memory of Arvid Carlsson Award to Professor Craig Mello, University of Massachusetts, USA, for the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), shared with Andrew Fire.
• The Sune Bergström Award to Professor Aviv Regev, Genentech, USA, for pioneering contributions to single-cell genomics and systems biology.
• The Therapeutic Achievement Award to Professor Kevan Shokat, University of California, San Francisco, USA, for groundbreaking work in chemical biology and genetics.

The event is sponsored by The Royal Physiographic Society, Mats Paulsson’s Foundation for Research, Innovation and Societal Development, Handelsbanken, AGB Pharma, LMK Foundation, Sound Bioventures, Lundbeck, Lund University and MultiPark.

For further details and registration, visit: lundspringsymposium.org.