Susanna Brauner Awarded the Swedish Society of Medicine's Translational Research Prize

Susanna Brauner, Assistant professor and CMM researcher (Fredrik Piehl’s Team) has received the Swedish Society of Medicine’s Translational Research Prize (Svenska Läkaresällskapets Translationella Forskningspris) for the project “Dissecting the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis – a genetic, epidemiological and immunological approach.” The award consists of SEK 100 000 and Susanna’s research project also got an additional grant of SEK 800 000.

Myasthenia gravis is a serious, potentially life-threatening neuromuscular disease. It is caused by an autoimmune reaction directed against the nerve connection on the skeletal muscles, resulting in fluctuating muscular fatigability (decrease of the muscle’s ability to perform over time). Factors driving disease development are largely unknown and treatment is currently broad acting and often only partially effective. In addition, approximately one third of patients develop treatment-resistant disease where no currently used drugs are effective.

In the awarded project, Susanna will lead the investigation studying the underlying pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis. In a nationwide effort, the group has collected the world’s largest cohort to study risk factors in myasthenia gravis (the GEMG-study). Genetic, environmental and life-style factors will be analyzed to better predict disease development and severity.

Immune reactions causing disease will also be studied in hope to further understand the pathogenesis. The autoreactive cells in inflamed tissue will be analyzed at single-cell level. Using a cohort of new onset patients, the group aims to identify biomarkers predicting disease severity and treatment outcomes. Susanna and her collaborators hope to better understand the features of the disease, to thereby predict the patients’ prognosis and guide in the development of better and more directed treatments.

We congratulate Susanna Brauner and wish her good luck with the project.

Photo: Ulf Sirborn, Karolinska Institutet