The Foundation has decided that the main prize for 2024 will be given to Professor Bhanu P. Jena (Wayne State University, School of Medicine, MI, USA) for his discovery of porosomes, which are cup-shaped structures in the cell membrane that allow secretory vesicles to dock to the membrane and transport material to the cell. Not only did Professor Jena reveal their structure by using a variety of methods including atomic force microscopy. His ground-breaking work also revealed the mechanism of action. This has been found to involve a transient porosome opening to enable release of secretory products. After completion of the secretion, the porosome returns to its resting size. Since the discovery of the porosomes, they have been demonstrated to be the universal secretory machinery in cells. He has also shown that porosomes can be utilized for drug development.
The Junior Prizes 2024 are awarded to:
Dr Cecilia Tullberg (Division of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, Sweden) for her work on lipids in biological matrixes, including characterization of composition, structure and emulsifying properties as well as means to modify the lipids by applying innovative green biotechnological tools and smart processing strategies. Her work has been focused on sustainable raw materials with food, pharmaceutical and consumer product applications in mind.
Dr Jennifer Gilbert (Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden) for her work on dispersion of lipid liquid crystalline phases for the delivery of a range of different bioactive molecules with focus on enzymes and nucleic acids. She has applied a range of light, x-ray and neutron scattering techniques to reveal structure and dynamics during formulation and after storage.
