We were delighted to learn that Lister Prize Fellow Dr Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri has been awarded the prestigious Hans Sigrist Prize for 2020, awarded by the Hans Sigrist Foundation at the University of Bern in Switzerland.
This international prize is awarded each year to an outstanding team of academic researchers in a particular field. The committee aims to choose a winner at the midpoint of their careers, in the hope that the funds boost their research and give their work wider recognition. Two of the former prize winners have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.
As 2020’s prize winner, Dr Sferruzzi-Perri receives 100,000 CHF (Swiss francs) to further her research.
Dr Sferruzzi-Perri is a lecturer in reproductive physiology at the University of Cambridge. The award honours her ground-breaking work on the molecular signalling pathways that govern the interaction between an expectant mother and her unborn child. This research also explores and seeks to improve the long-term effects on their health. It is helping develop new approaches to prevent conditions like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.
“By understanding more precisely how the placenta develops, we can better understand the development of complications and the origins of disease risks in later life. Importantly, we may be able to identify how these can be prevented,” explained Dr Sferruzzi-Perri in an article on the University of Bern’s website.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the prize cannot be presented in person, nor can Dr Sferruzzi-Perri give the keynote address at the annual Hans Sigrist Symposium. It is likely this will be postponed until later this year.
We are delighted to hear of Dr Sferruzzi-Perri’s achievements and are honoured to have played a role in supporting her research.
You can read more about Dr Sferruzzi-Perri in our Lister Fellow Profile.
