Helena Edlund is a Swedish professor and molecular biologist. She is a professor in Molecular Developmental Biology at Umeå University where she researches

Type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes (T2D), formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent ...

and β-cell function. She is one of the founders, along with Thomas Edlund and Olof Karlsson, of the

biopharmaceutical A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, t ...

company ''Betagenon''. Edlund was the recipient of the Minkowski Prize given by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), and won the Eppendorf Prize. She is a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

Life

Edlund received her Ph.D. from

Umeå University Umeå University (; Ume Sami language, Ume Sami: ) is a public university, public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present bord ...

in 1991. She began by studying chemistry, but soon moved into molecular biology, excited by a talk about DNA she attended. She is a professor in Molecular Developmental Biology at Umeå University where she researches pancreas function,

and β-cell function. She is one of the founders, along with Thomas Edlund and Olof Karlsson, of the

company ''Betagenon''. In 2000, Edlund was the recipient of the Minkowski Prize given by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) for her work in factors controlling beta-cell identity and glucose homeostasis. She also won the Eppendorf Prize in 1997. She was a Wallenberg Scholar in 2010, and her grant was extended in 2016. Edlund is a member of the

. She has written numerous articles on

beta cell Beta cells (β-cells) are specialized endocrine cells located within the pancreatic islets of Langerhans responsible for the production and release of insulin and amylin. Constituting ~50–70% of cells in human islets, beta cells play a vi ...

differentiation, beta cell function, pancreatic development, and Type 2 diabetes, and more recently on the links between Type 2 diabetes and the plaques formed in

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

and Alzheimers disease.

References

External links

Mini CV Helana Edlund
Scientific Advisory Board, Oslo University Hospital {{DEFAULTSORT:Edlund, Helena Living people Molecular biologists Umeå University alumni Diabetologists Minkowski Prize recipients Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Year of birth missing (living people)