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Christine Van Broeckhoven given prestigious MetLife award for medical research worth $ 250,000

16/05/2012

On Tuesday, May 15, in New York, the MetLife Foundation handed its annual Award for Medical Research to Christine Van Broeckhoven, of VIB and Universiteit Antwerpen, for her pioneering research on Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. This prestigious scientific award is given to outstanding scientific researchers. The substantial amount attached to the award is meant to give researchers the chance and free rein to develop new research ideas in the fight against dementia.

Donald L. Price, Chairman of the Jury, stated that "We have selected Christine Van Broeckhoven because of her novel and significant approaches to Alzheimer’s disease, which are paving the way for additional discoveries that are important for diagnosis and treatments for this disease”.

According to Van Broeckhoven, "Scientific prizes are important for two reasons. On the one hand, they ensure that enough attention is paid to the illness and to the patients affected and their families and, on the other, they show that scientific research is essential to creating hope for a better future."

Van Broeckhoven is Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Universiteit Antwerpen and as Department Director and researcher associated with VIB. Her research group focuses on molecular genetic research in the field of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, frontal lobe degeneration, and even Parkinson's. These brain diseases are characterized by a massive loss of brain cells. The reasons for this are not well understood. It is thanks to the pioneering research of Van Broeckhoven and her team that we now know genetics play a role. Looking for DNA modifications in patients that could explain their increased risk for developing the disease, Van Broeckhoven’s team has produced much important information about the biology of the brain disease process over the years. Already some 30 years ago, they were able to demonstrate that transcription errors in the genetic code of the amyloid led to Alzheimer’s. As a result, the amyloid is now considered the key to new therapies for Alzheimer’s. More recently, genetic research on frontal lobe degeneration has identified two other keys (granulin and C9orf72) that are now the focus of much scientific attention for their role in brain cell death. All these genetic results form the cornerstone for the development of new therapies that will keep brain cells healthy longer. In the future, knowledge of the genetic risk profile should also contribute to earlier detection and treatment of persons at high risk of developing these brain diseases.

Source: VIB