Dr. Ragnar Mørk legacy prize to Anne Simonsen
This year's prize from "Dr. Ragnar Mørk legacy" is awarded Anne Simonsen from the Department of Biochemistry at the Norwegian Radium Hospital.
The "Dr. Ragnar Mørk legacy" prize is distributed annually to a scientist who has achieved excellent results throughout years of outstanding research.
The ceremony took place in the seminar room at the Institute for Cancer Research on Friday 22nd of November. Simonsen gave a lecture summarizing her work.
Anne Simonsen has for several years been trying to understand how the enzyme PI 3-kinase regulates intracellular transport. She is currently project leader for "Autophagy in health and disease". This project is aiming to clarify how autophagy is regulated, and how faulty regulation of autophagy can lead to diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative illness. In a work presented on the cover of the last issue of the prestigious Journal of Cell Biology Simonsen presents evidence pointing to that certain inborn forms mental disability result from reduced autophagy in the central nervous system.
Links:
JCB cover story: Cancer researchers shed light on inherited brain damage (news article from radium.no)
Autophagy in health and disease - Project group led by Anne Simonsen