The FEBS Open Bio Article Prize is awarded to an early career researcher (a PhD student or a postdoctoral researcher within 5 years of receiving their PhD) who has published a paper of especial interest and importance in the journal in the preceding year. The prize consists of a bursary for registration, travel and accommodation to allow the winner to attend the FEBS Congress. We are pleased to announce that the 2022 FEBS Open Bio Article Prize will be awarded to Sofia Lovestam (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK).
Sofia Lövestam, Manuel Schweighauser, Tomoyasu Matsubara, Shigeo Murayama, Taisuke Tomita, Takashi Ando, Kazuko Hasegawa, Mari Yoshida, Airi Tarutani, Masato Hasegawa, Michel Goedert, Sjors H. W. Scheres. FEBS Open Bio. 2021 Apr;11(4):999-1013. doi:10.1002/2211-5463.13110
The propagation of conformational strains by templated seeding is central to the prion concept. Seeded assembly of α-synuclein into filaments is believed to underlie the prion-like spreading of protein inclusions in a number of human neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). The authors previously determined the atomic structures of α-synuclein filaments from the putamen of five individuals with MSA. In the winning article, the authors used filament preparations from three of these brains for the in vitro seeded assembly of recombinant human α-synuclein. They observed that the structures of the seeded assemblies differ from those of the seeds, suggesting that additional, currently unknown factors play a role in the propagation of the seeds.
The winning article was selected during a meeting hosted by the journal’s managing editor Duncan Wright by a jury comprised of three members of the journal’s Editorial Board: Ivana Novak (Split), Sandro Sonnino (Milan), and Alex Wlodawer (Frederick).
Sofia Lövestam has been invited to submit an abstract on her current work for presentation at the IUBMB–FEBS–PABMB Congress to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, 9–14 July 2022.
For more information about this award, please see the FEBS Open Bio Article Prize.
For a summary of all FEBS awards, click here.
