Karolinska Institutet's Grand Silver Medal Awarded to Dr. Jan-Ake Gustafsson

Grand Silver Medal

For Contributions Supporting the Institutet’s Mission 

During the month of November 2011, UH Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling (CNRCS) director Dr. Jan-Åke Gustafsson will be awarded a Grand Silver Medal from the Karolinska Institutet of Stockholm, Sweden. The award is in recognition of Gustafsson’s contributions in support of the Institutet’s mission to improve human health through research and education.

“I am very grateful to receive this honor for my work with Karolinska,” said Gustafsson. “I look forward to building on these accomplishments through the unique collaboration between the Center and Institutet.”

That unique collaboration is a cornerstone of Gustafsson’s vision for CNRCS research excellence. Among other priorities within the Center, there is an emphasis on the exchange of ideas with internal and external collaborators. The Karolinska Institutet in particular shares strong ties with the Center, with several core investigators having relocated to Houston from Sweden. Other research partners range from as nearby as the Texas Medical Center, to as distant as the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.

It was during his tenure at Karolinska that Gustafsson discovered a new hormone receptor – estrogen receptor beta. The breakthrough had a major impact in the field of nuclear receptors and is the basis for much of today’s CNRCS research thrust. Additionally, the professor is credited with leading the effort to revitalize and grow the south campus of the Institutet.

The Karolinska Institutet Grand Silver Medal was first awarded in 2010, commemorating the Institutet’s bicentennial anniversary. The Gold, Grand Silver and Silver medals are awarded each fall and spring to citizens who have made an outstanding effort to better the Institutet. Sweden’s H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf was among the inaugural Gold Medal recipients at the Royal Palace of Stockholm.

Home to the Nobel Assembly, the Karolinska Institutet is a leading European medical university based in Stockholm. The Institutet was established in 1810 and is renowned for its accomplishments in medicine and health science.