The Oxford Centre for Neuroinflammation is led by Lars Fugger, Professor of Neuroimmunology at the University of Oxford. Professor Fugger has been working on neurodegenerative diseases since 1987. Following posts at the Universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark and at Stanford University in the US, he took up his current position at Oxford in 2007, and has received numerous international awards for his work, most notably the European Commission’s Prize for Scientific Excellence (the Descartes Prize) in 2002, the European Society of Clinical Investigation Award for Excellence in Clinical Science in 2005, and the Sobek Prize – the largest European MS research prize – in 2009. In 2011, he received a Danish Knighthood (the Order of Dannebrog) for services to biomedical science.
Professor Fugger’s research group is recognised worldwide for its expertise in translating basic biomedical research into clinical findings that benefit patients directly. The group’s innovative work to date has laid strong foundations for the development of the OCNI. For example, in 2012 the team published a proof-of-principle study that showed, for the first time, how it is possible to identify new drugs by establishing the biological effects of genetic variations. In the same year, Professor Fugger and his team received the highly prestigious MS Society Award for their research on the re-purposing of amiloride. Amiloride was originally developed to treat high blood pressure, but the team showed that it could also potentially slow the progression of multiple sclerosis. More recently, the team has identified new targets for drugs that with further research could treat numerous diseases.
Honors and Awards
1985 Gold medal, University of Aarhus, Denmark.
1993 Arthritis Investigator Award, Arthritis Foundation, USA.
1998 The Anders Jahre Nordic Medical Research Prize for young scientists.
2002 The European Commission's Prize for Scientific Excellence (The Descartes Prize).
2003 The Danish Medical Society's Prize (The August Krogh Prize).
2005 The European Society of Clinical Investigation’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Science.
2009 Sobek Prize (International Multiple Sclerosis research prize).
2010 Elected fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences, UK.
2011 Danish knighthood. The Order of Dannebrog (the name of the Danish flag).
2012 Multiple Sclerosis Research of the Year Award, Multiple Sclerosis Society, UK.
2013 Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Award.
Professor Lars Fugger
Professor of Neuroimmunology
Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
Mark Machin Professorial Fellow
Oriel College
The University of Oxford