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The development of a possible vaccine against malaria, the role of the brain in the functioning of the biological clock and the link with the role of the immune system in short-term memory are the three winning investigations of the 2020 edition of the Pfizer Awards.
The research to develop a vaccine against malaria, by the team led by Miguel Prudência, from the João Lobo Antunes Institute of Molecular Medicine (iMM), won this year’s edition of the Pfizer pharmaceutical awards, in alliance with the Sociedade das Ciências Médicas de Lisbon. , in the category of Clinical Research.
The awards, which also distinguish the work of two more teams, will be awarded this Wednesday afternoon in a ceremony attended by the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor.
According to the organization, the malaria vaccine being developed by the iMM team, called PbVac, has achieved “a very significant reduction” in liver infection, the first stage of human malaria infection in a total of 24 volunteers. healthy.
Night work
In the Basic Research category, one of the projects is developed by Henrique Veiga-Fernandes from the Champalimaud Foundation. Scientists study the function of innate lymphoid cells type 3 (ILC3) to understand how people who take night shifts or change their time zones frequently are more likely to be overweight and suffer more from intestinal inflammation.
The other award is for work led by Julie Ribot, also from iMM, studying the link between the immune system and the central nervous system and its impact on short-term memory. Researchers want to know how the immune system can influence the learning and memory process, which cells are involved in this process, and how they act.
The awards were created in 1956 and have since been awarded to 214 papers by 700 scientists. This year’s award has a total value of 50 thousand euros.
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