Jonas Frisén, professor at the Karolinska Institute, has been awarded the 2017 Grand Nordic Prize by the Eric K. Fernström Foundation. The prize is worth SEK 1 million.
“I was both surprised and overwhelmed when the prize committee phoned”, says Jonas Frisén.
Jonas Frisén is an internationally recognised researcher who became established in the field of stem cell research early in his career. His research concerns the formation of new cells in the adult body. The ability to form new stem cells – which in turn can give rise to specialised cells – is of considerable importance in diseases that involve the loss of cells, such as Alzheimer’s.
Jonas Frisén’s research has focused on the formation of new cells primarily in the nervous system, but also in the heart and in cancer. He describes the latter as “a type of new cell formation that is out of control”.
The moment that changed everything
His interest in stem cells arose from one particular moment. This was when Jonas Frisén looked at microscope images of spinal cords and saw something unexpected.
“One image showed a healthy spinal cord of a rat, and the other was a damaged spinal cord of a rat. It looked like new cells were being emitted from where the damage was, and it was lit up like a Christmas tree on the image of the unhealthy spinal cord”, recalls Jonas Frisén.
The stem cells were inactive in the healthy spinal cord, but they had been activated and started to form new cells in the damaged spinal cord. The discovery was revolutionary and that moment at the microscope meant that Jonas Frisén left all other avenues of research.
A new dating method
The next step was to find out whether new nerve cells can be formed in an adult. To succeed, Jonas Frisén needed a method to date cells as a way of determining if they had been present since birth or been formed later in life. Inspired by archaeologists’ use of carbon-14 dating, he devised an unorthodox method that could be used to date the cells.
“We took advantage of the nuclear weapon testing that went on during the Cold War. In simple terms, these resulted in enormous production of radioactive substances that were released into the atmosphere and also taken up by cells. We could use this to date nerve cells.”
Driven by asking questions
Jonas Frisén thinks that such ingenious solutions are the most enjoyable part of research. He believes that a large degree of curiosity and courage has been a contributing factor in the success of the research.
“I am naturally a bit reckless. I am driven by asking questions – if there is no way to get an answer, you have to find a new way. The nuclear weapon testing idea was a long shot that nobody had tried before. It sounded good in theory, but required us to learn a lot of new things so that it could work in practice”, states Jonas Frisén.
A lot has happened in the field of stem cell research since Jonas Frisén looked in his microscope on that day in 1993.
“Around the year 2000, reporting on stem cells was such that you might believe they could heal almost any disease. It has not worked out that way, but there are a number of established stem cell therapies and several that are now going through clinical trials. Conceptually, it’s important to understand how stem cells work, as the knowledge can be used in several different areas, such as cancer. Most types of cancer originate in stem cells and cancer cells can behave like stem cells”, says Jonas Frisén.
Jonas Frisén’s research group has shown that nerve cell formation in people differs dramatically from that of other mammals. He has also studied new cell formation in the heart.
“It was not previously known whether we have the same cardiac muscle cells throughout life or not. We have been able to show, and in more detail, how we replace our cardiac muscle cells, and that it happens at a slow rate.”
The prize is worth SEK 1 million. What will you do with the money?
“The first thing I plan to do is use the money for a family holiday”, says Jonas Frisén.
Contact:
Jonas Frisén, professor Karolinska Institute
+46 (0)8-524 875 62
jonas [dot] frisen [at] ki [dot] se
FACTS:
Stem cells are immature cells that can give rise to different types of mature cells, but also have the ability to divide and form new stem cells in an inexhaustible way. The ultimate stem cell is the fertilised ovum – a cell that gives rise to the entire organism.
Fact box:
Jonas Frisén
Age: 50
Reads: Certainly. A favourite is Vilhelm Moberg’s “A Time on Earth”.
Seen: Latest, The Square.
Does: Professor of Stem Cell Research at the Karolinska Institute (KI).
Fun fact:
Jonas is also known for using Bob Dylan quotes in research article titles (Blood on the tracks, a simple twist of fate). “At first it went under the radar, until someone at the KI library detected it. Now, when people know about it, it’s not as much fun anymore.”
The Eric K. Fernström Foundation awards an annual Nordic prize to a medical researcher from one of the Nordic countries, as well as local prizes to young researchers at faculties of medicine in Sweden. The Nordic Prize is worth SEK 1 million. The awards ceremony is the festive conclusion of the Research Day in Lund, this year on 8 November. Lund University’s Faculty of Medicine has cooperated with the foundation since 1978, when honorary doctor of medicine, Eric K. Fernström, established the Eric K. Fernström Foundation through a donation.