Swedish Research Council project grants for international collaborations in rare diseases
Fotograf: Stefan Zimmermann and Ulf Sirborn.
The Swedish Research Council has awarded project grants for international collaborations in rare diseases (EJP RD). Of the seven researchers awarded grants, four are researchers at Karolinska Institutet and two of them are at CMM.
CMMers Susanna Brauner and Fredrik Piehl receive funding for the project “Karaktärisering och optimering av vårdförloppet vid myastenia gravis” (Characterization and optimization of the course of care in myasthenia gravis). The researchers will study the natural course of disease progression and the effects of thymectomy (surgical removal of the thymus gland) and biological treatments in myasthenia gravis, with the aim of optimizing the course of care in specific patient groups. Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune disease where antibodies block and destroy acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction, resulting in weakness of the skeletal muscles. Susanna Brauner is responsible for the retrospective part of the study (data analyses in a historical patient cohort) which has been awarded SEK 1,600,000. Fredrik Piehl is responsible for the experimental aspects and the prospective part of the study (collecting new clinical data from patients) which has been awarded SEK 2,400,000.
