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The Jacobæus Prize 2020 honours long-time contributions to clinical research in metabolic disease

Professor Karine Clément from France is awarded the Jacobæus Prize 2020 of DKK 1,5 million (€200,000) for her clinical research in metabolic disease. She receives the Prize in recognition of her important contributions to the development of novel methods and models used in the clinical work with disorders such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

How does the gut microbiome change after a person has been through a weight loss induced by diet or bariatric surgery? That is one of the questions Professor Karine Clément seeks to answer through investigations of changes in the adipose tissue, liver and gut.

Karine Clément is a full professor of nutrition at Sorbonne University and Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, France. In her research, she uses omics technologies – an umbrella term for methods used to make comprehensive analysis of big amounts of biological data. The technologies are applied to investigate the human genome, metabolism and microbiome, among other things.

“In the last 20 years, we have used various omics technologies to investigate metabolic disease complexity, especially in humans. These techniques are particularly well-suited for investigation of pathophysiology in connection with metabolic disorders such as obesity and type 2 diabetes,” says Karine Clément.

Clinical research with cutting-edge technology
As director of the research unit NutriOmics, she and her team address basic and translational research in the area of obesity and related metabolic disorders.

To honour Karine Clément’s long-time research contributions, the Committee on Endocrinology and Metabolism of the Novo Nordisk Foundation has awarded her the Jacobæus Prize 2020.

“Throughout her career, Karine Clément has applied cutting-edge molecular analysis to probe clinical questions in the area of obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic disease. We wish to recognize these important contributions by awarding her the Jacobæus Prize 2020,” says Anna Krook, Chairman of the Committee and Professor at Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

On 12 February, Karine Clément will give herJacobæus Prize Lecture titled “Obesity: What is behind; genetics, diet or gut microbiota?” It is being held as an online event. For more information and registration for the lecture, please visit this website.

Recipient of the Jacobæus Prize 2020: Professor Karine Clément
Karine Clément, MD, PhD, is a medical doctor and full professor of nutrition at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris) and Sorbonne University in Paris, France.

She is the director of the research unit NutriOmics at INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale – France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research).

From 2011-2016, Karine Clément was director of the Institute of CardioMetabolism and Nutrition (ICAN) in Paris, France.

Karine Clément and her research group have contributed to more than 350 highly cited publications, and she contributes to several science advisory boards and international consortia, such as MetaCardis – a European Union project dedicated to the study of gut microbiota in cardiometabolic disorders.

She is also a member of several international groups including The World Obesity Federation (WOF), The European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD), Association Francaise D’études et de Recherches sur L’obésite (AFERO).

About the Jacobæus Prize
The Jacobæus Prize was established in 1939 to commemorate the Swedish professor Hans Christian Jacobæus. The purpose of the Prize is to promote medical research and it is awarded annually to a distinguished international researcher, who is invited to give a lecture on his or her research on a topic within physiology or endocrinology. The accompanying award of DKK 1,500,000 (€200,000) is distributed as a personal award of DKK 250,000 and an award for research or development work of DKK 1,250,000.

The Prize is awarded under the auspices of the Committee on Endocrinology and Metabolism of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, with lectures being held mainly at Scandinavian universities or in European cities and towns connected with medical research.

Hans Christian Jacobæus (1879–1937) was a Swedish professor and pioneering clinical researcher who developed a method for exploring the pleural cavity (thoracoscopy) using a cystoscope, which greatly improved the diagnosis and treatment of lung diseases, especially tuberculosis. Hans Christian Jacobæus served on the Board of the Nordisk Insulin Foundation from its inception in 1926 and until his death.

See previous recipients of the Jacobæus Prize here.

Further information

Sabina Askholm Larsen, Communications Officer, phone: +45 2367 3226, [email protected]