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And the winner is…

Posted by
Henrik Klitgaard, CNS Research
07-Jul-2011
That’s why we developed the UCB Award for Neuroscientific Research in Belgium, under the patronage of the Queen Elizabeth Medical Foundation – an initiative that honours top class science and funds important research which could help deepen our understand of serious diseases.

The prize, presented by HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium, was awarded to Professor Bart De Strooper of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U.Leuven) to help finance his research on Alzheimer’s disease. The presentation was made at a ceremony at an academic meeting held in the Royal Palace.
 
De Strooper is shedding new light on Alzheimer’s through his research project which focuses on the potential role of deregulation of the microRNA network of the disease.
The UCB Award comes with €100,000 of research funding which will support Bart De Strooper in continuing pushing the boundaries of what is known about neurodegeneration.

This is important work and fits with UCB’s goal of improving the lives of people living with debilitating illnesses. Roch Doliveux, CEO of UCB summed it up in his message of congratulations to Dr Strooper:

“Professor De Strooper’s work is exciting - opening up the prospect of identifying the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and finding new avenues for the potential development of treatments. UCB, leader in the field of epilepsy, supports and promotes innovative and original research work concerning the central nervous system. We want to play a part in making advances in therapies to fight not only epilepsy, but also neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.”

Partners in innovation
This is the third UCB Award to be presented. Prof De Strooper follows in the footsteps of his K.U.Leuven colleague Rik Vandenberghe who won the prize in 2008 for research on the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on language, and ULB professor Pierre Vanderhaeghen who won the 2006 UCB Award for his work on neuronal connectivity within the brain cortex.

The initiative prize fits neatly with UCB’s model of open innovation. We have formed over 140 partnerships with companies and universities around the world, making us Belgium’s number 1 investor in R&D across all sectors.

I’m looking forward to forging more partnerships in future, leading to more innovation and, ultimately, better outcomes for patients.

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