NEWS The 2025 Eric K Fernström Prize for Young, Particularly Promising and Successful Researchers is awarded to Associate Professor Björn Schröder at the Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, for his significant scientific contributions in the research field of host-microbiome interactions.
Björn Schröder, Department of Molecular Biology and The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden. MIMS. ImageMattias Pettersson
In its citation, the prize committee at the Faculty of Medicine writes:
"Björn Schröder's research in the field has focused in particular on the molecular mechanisms through which diet affects the gut via the microbiome. His research group has been able to convincingly show that Western diets disrupt the mucus barrier in the colon through specific microbial and diet-related factors, an influence that increases susceptibility to inflammation. Schröder's work has provided important insights into how diet-related changes in the microbiome impair gut health at the molecular level, and how these changes affect gut barrier functions and immune function."
The Eric K. Fernström Shipowner Prize for young, particularly promising and successful researchers is given each year to young researchers at each of the six medical faculties in Sweden. In Umeå, the prize winner is appointed by a special committee at the Faculty of Medicine.
The prize is awarded at Umeå University's annual ceremony in October. The prize money is SEK 100,000. The prize winner will also receive a special diploma at a ceremony in Lund.
