The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research was established in 1972, following a donation by Mr. Daniel K. Ludwig. The research within the Institute is carried out at different Branches in various countries and there are administrative offices in New York and Zürich.
The Branch in Uppsala was established in 1986. The aim of our research is to elucidate the signaling pathways in cells that control cell growth. We study factors which stimulate or inhibit cell growth and try to elucidate the molecular mechanism whereby such factors exert their effects on cells. The uncontrolled growth of cancer cells is to some extent due to constitutive activation of pathways that in the normal cell is controlled by growth stimulatory factors or loss of components of growth inhibitory pathways. A goal is to develop clinically useful antagonists of growth factor action.
The Uppsala Branch is localized at the Biomedical Center in Uppsala and operates under a contract with Uppsala University and the University Hospital.
Carl-Henrik Heldin
Carl-Henrik Heldin
C. H. Heldin is since 1986 the Branch Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Uppsala, Sweden, and since 1992 also professor in Molecular Cell Biology at Uppsala University. He was born in 1952, and obtained a PhD degree in Medical and Physiological Chemistry in 1980 at the University of Uppsala, where he continued to work until 1985 using a position sponsored by the Swedish Cancer Society.
The research interest of C. H. Heldin is related to the mechanisms of signal transduction by growth regulatory factors, as well as their normal function and role in disease. In particular, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), a major mitogen for connective tissue cells, and transforming growth factor β (TGF β), which inhibits the growth of most cell types, are studied. An important goal is to explore the possible clinical utility of signal transduction antagonists.
C-H. Heldin is a member of several learned societies, including the European Molecular Biology Organization, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Academia Europea. He is honorary doctor at the Universities of Patras, Helsinki, Turku and Heidelberg. He serves or has served on the Scientific Advisory Boards for several companies and academic institutions, including the German Cancer Center, Heidelberg, Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried, European Institute for Oncology, Milan, and European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg. C-H. Heldin is currently Vice President of the European Research Council and is also an Associate Editor for Molecular Biology of the Cell, Genes to Cells and Growth Factors.
C-H. Heldin has published more than 380 research articles and 190 reviews, and has received several scientific awards, including Prix Antoine Lacassagne (1989), K. Fernströms Large Medical Prize (1993) and the Pezcoller-American Association for Cancer Research Award (2002). His work has been cited >53,000 times and his H-index is 124.