Anna Klawonn presented her work on the Sigma-2 receptor and its relevance in addiction. Photo: Susanna Lönnqvist
This year’s HURS featured speakers from the University of Gothenburg and Uppsala University, and presentations by researchers at Linköping University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. DOMFIL, the faculty’s organisation for PhD students, organises an annual award for the best scientific paper. During the spring, DOMFIL accepts nominations for the best article published by a PhD student at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences during the previous year. An expert panel assesses the publications, and two winners are presented at HURS. This year they were Antonio Lentini and Anna Klawonn, both from LiU’s Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine.
Possible addiction treatment
Anna Klawonn studied one type of receptor in the brain, the neurosteroid Sigma-2 receptor, which thus far has not been the subject of much research. Molecules that bind to the receptor have recently been developed, which made possible the studies that show that the Sigma 2 receptor can play a role in substance dependency. In her work, Anna Klawonn studied the effect of a drug that binds to the receptor. In trials with mice, the receptor in their brain was bound, resulting in reduced interest in the addictive substance, in this case cocaine, and fewer relapses.
“The reduced risk of relapse is one of the most important findings we made in the study. Relapse is one of the most difficult things to treat in a substance dependent person,” Anna Klawonn explained.
HURS includes a company exhibition with leading biomedical companies visiting. Photo: Susanna Lönnqvist
HURS
HURS 2018 brought for a day PhD students and researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. It included a presentation of the faculty’s research, guest speakers, and exhibits of several biomedical companies. It is organised annually by DOMFIL, the faculty’s PhD student organisation.
Translation: Martin Mirko.
