Medications are the physician's primary tool when treating their patients, and understanding how drugs work is fundamental to being a good doctor, according to Lars Grundemar, adjunct professor of clinical pharmacology at Lund University with extensive experience in the global pharmaceutical industry.
– The medical field is advancing rapidly with discoveries and the development of entirely new methods that provide new opportunities for successfully treating diseases that were previously untreatable. In the academic world, it’s therefore important to have competence that can lead modern pharmacological research adapted for the 21st century, says Lars Grundemar.
He is one of the initiators of the symposium in May, where state-of-the-art research on molecular therapy will be presented. The idea is to create an arena for meetings between researchers, entrepreneurs, and life science companies interested in finding new treatment methods with pharmacological interventions.
– You cannot dictate innovation without the right conditions. Academic researchers need freedom, as they are currently too strictly controlled by their funding, which reduces the opportunities to explore with an open mind. Adequate funding is also required, as well as cooperation between different competencies to create the right environment, says Lars Grundemar.
During the symposium, Nobel laureates Brian Kobilka and David Julius will participate, with the latter also being awarded an honorary doctorate. Bengt Samuelsson, who received the Nobel Prize in 1982 for the discovery of the hormone prostaglandins, will also come to Lund as a guest of honor.
– He began his research career at the Department of Pharmacology in Lund, and we are grateful to have been able to establish a research award in his name, says Lars Grundemar.
Lars Grundemar is convinced that by bringing together creative forces, there can be opportunities for expanded horizons, new interactions, and global networking.
– It is often through crossing different fields that the great discoveries are made. Our ambition is for the symposium to be recurring and to stimulate continued interest in modern pharmacology at Lund University."
