We don’t normally mention grants on the lab website. But there are grants that are not normal. Two weeks ago, the news reached us that our lab has been awarded a project grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation. These highly competitive grants are awarded every second year, to projects that “have such high scientific potential that they have the possibility of leading to future scientific breakthroughs“.

In our project ”Conserved concepts and divergent details of membrane-bound viral replication organelles” we will study the replication process of two types of arthropod-borne viruses: alphaviruses and flaviviruses. This collaborative project between five groups spans from animal experiments to mathematical models of membrane shapes. The co-PIs of the grant are Anna Överby (Umeå), Richard Lundmark (Umeå), Gerald McInerney (KI) and Benjamin Murrell (KI). In addition, an important collaborator will be Andreas Carlson (Oslo). The long-term funding from the Wallenberg foundation for this project will enable us to aim higher and dig deeper than otherwise possible. We’re eager to get started!

Read the foundation’s press release here:

https://kaw.wallenberg.org/en/press/sek-835-million-grants-30-excellent-research-projects