Previous News Stories

Previous NAS meetings reports

Co-founder of the Nordic Autophagy Network receives prestigious research award

NAS congratulates Professor Anne Simonsen on receiving the 2019 King Olav V’s cancer research award. On April 9th, his Majesty King Harald V of Norway personally handed over the prize of 1 million NOK at the traditional ceremony held in the University old Ceremony Hall in central Oslo.

The prestigious award was given by the Norwegian Cancer Society in recognition of Professor Simonsen´s outstanding basic research on autophagy and its relation to cancer. This is the second time that the Norwegian Cancer Society recognizes the importance of autophagy research, in that the Norwegian pioneer in autophagy research Professor Per O. Seglen received the same prize in 2017.

In her speech Simonsen thanked the Norwegian Cancer Society for funding long-term basic research throughout the years, and highlighted the importance of basic research for understanding complex diseases such as cancer. Simonsen thanked all her co-workers and stated that: “I have the best job in the world, and I promise that my skillful co-workers and I will do everything we can to make cancer a less scary disease in the future.”

Simonsen, who is a University of Oslo Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, is the co-founder of the Nordic Autophagy Network (NAN), on which the Nordic Autophagy Society (NAS) is built. Simonsen coordinated the NAN from 2011-2015, and is currently a NAS Board member.

We congratulate Professor Simonsen and look forward to all the great work to come!

The prize winner Professor Anne Simonsen next to his Majesty King Harald V (left center), Cancer Society Secretary-General Anne-Lise Ryel (left), and Cancer Society Board chairman Gunn-Elin Bjørneboe (right). Photo: Håkon Mosvold

Anne Simonsen with her research group at the prize ceremony

April 19th, 2019

NAS Conference and Lab Exchange Grants

NAS is glad to announce the kick-off of the “NAS Conference and Lab Exchange Grants”!

“NAS Conference grants” can provide support of up to EURO 500 for travel/accommodation/registration to international conferences.

“NAS Lab exchange grants” can provide support of up to EURO 2 500 for travel and accommodation in relation to a research stay in any lab in the world for 5 – 90 days.

More information, including on how to apply can be found here:

January 16th, 2019

The Netherlands has joined NAS!

At the 2018, NAS General Assembly in Riga, Latvia, on August 30th 2018, the Netherlands were officially included as a full country member of NAS. The NAS logo will be updated to include the flag of the Netherlands, and the NAS BY-LAWS will be updated to include the Netherlands as a member country.

In a transition phase, Professor Fulvio Reggiori (Groningen) will act as an interim NAS Board member to represent the Netherlands in the Board until the 2019 General Assembly will take place at next year’s NAS Conference.

The participation of the Netherlands to NAS is supported by a newly acquired grant from The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, after an initiative from Professor Reggiori.

Kick-starting the Netherlands’ participation in NAS, the 3rd NAS Conference / 8th Nordic Autophagy Meeting will be held in the Netherlands – most likely end of May 2019 in Utrecht/the vicinity of Utrecht. More information about the meeting will follow.

September 1st, 2018