Dr Martyna Szpakowska and Dr Andy Chevigné;
Credit: LIH
The Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) has announced that two of its researchers received the 2019 Galien Prize in Pharmacology, a prestigious international award.
Dr Andy Chevigné and Dr Martyna Szpakowska from the LIH Department of Infection and Immunity (DII) were rewarded for their outstanding contribution to molecular pharmacology during a virtual ceremony on Tuesday, in the presence of Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgium's Minister of Public Health and Social Affairs, and representatives of pharmaceutical companies and healthcare hubs.
The two LIH researchers were commended for their continuous achievements in advancing the understanding of the relevance, role, function and pharmacology of atypical chemokine receptors (ACKRs) and their ligands. ACKRs are “molecular switches” that interact with small molecules known as chemokines, thereby regulating cellular mechanisms such as cell growth and survival and consequently influencing a variety of physiological and pathological processes, including immune responses and immunosurveillance. Due to their involvement in several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, as well as in many cancers, ACKRs have recently emerged as highly promising potential drug targets, although their biology is currently insufficiently understood.
The 2019 Galien Prize in Pharmacology is a recognition of Dr Chevigné’s and Dr Szpakowska’s efforts over the last eight years to extend their research activities and establish the first molecular pharmacology academic laboratory in Luxembourg. The research laboratory of “Immuno-Pharmacology and Interactomics” is located at the LIH DII and co-supervised by the two laureates. The main objectives of their research group are to investigate the roles of chemokines and their receptors in immune disorders, cancer, viral infections and neuro-inflammatory diseases, ultimately leading to the development of drugs targeting these molecular components.
As part of the award ceremony, Dr Chevigné, Principal Investigator and Group Leader of the Immuno-Pharmacology and Interactomics group, presented his team’s work to the expert audience in the presentation “Understanding the molecular pharmacology of human atypical chemokine receptors”.
He stated: “We are humbled and grateful to the jury for this unique opportunity. The Galien Prize is the highest accolade Dr Martyna Szpakowska and Dr Andy Chevigné 2 for pharmaceutical research and development and competition was indeed very strong. I am therefore extremely proud of the work we have been able to accomplish so far. This achievement will give additional visibility and credibility to the research performed at LIH and in Luxembourg in general”.
Dr Martyna Szpakowska added: “Receiving the prize has been even more gratifying considering that it has been awarded to Luxembourgish researchers for the first time in 38 years! This is a further confirmation of the excellent international reputation of our institute and of the Grand Duchy as a whole”
Organised yearly by Roularta HealthCare, editor of the “Journal du Médecin/Artsenkrant”, the Galien Prize in Pharmacology consists of a gold medal and a sum of €5,000. It is granted to a scientist or group of scientists under the age of 40 performing clinical or fundamental pharmacology research within a Belgian or Luxembourgish academic institute.
