Gilead Sciences is pleased to reveal the 2025 Nordic Fellowship Programme awardees, continuing its commitment to support innovative Nordic research aimed at transforming patient care.
"We are proud to continue our ongoing tradition of supporting patient focused research initiatives in the Nordics with our grant to this year’s exceptional researchers and their innovative projects," says Pascal van Peborgh, Sr. Director Medical Affairs Nordics at Gilead Sciences. "Their work embodies our commitment to advancing healthcare and improving patient outcomes. We look forward to following the impact of their research on patient care and scientific understanding in the years to come."
The Fellowship Programme 2025 supports projects across three key therapeutic areas: Cell therapy, Virology, and Oncology, reinforcing Gilead's commitment to advancing scientific knowledge and improving patient outcomes. The awarded projects and researchers are:
Cell therapy:
Two projects have been selected in the field of cell therapy.
- Huang Yanjie, PhD, Karolinska Institutet/ Department of Laboratory Medicine. This project aims to develop a next-generation in vivo CAR-T cell therapy platform using T cell-targeted lipid nanoparticles to deliver CRISPR/Cas9 components and DNA templates, enabling precise genomic editing directly inside the patient and eliminating the need for complex ex vivo manufacturing.
- Prof. Magne Børset, MD, PhD, NTNU, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norway. This project will investigate how the protein PRL-3 enables cancer cells to survive and thrive in acidic environments by rewiring their metabolism. The aim is to identify and validate new treatment targets in multiple myeloma and other cancers.
Virology:
Six projects have been selected in the field of HIV.
- Piotr Nowak, Senior ID Consultant and Associate Professor, Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden, will lead a research project investigating metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and liver fibrosis in people living with HIV. The study will assess prevalence, risk factors, and biomarkers to improve diagnosis and care, with results expected to guide clinical practice and support patient-centered interventions.
- Eva Åkerman, PhD, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, will lead a qualitative study on healthcare professionals’ views of simplified HIV testing, including home and self-testing. The project will be conducted in collaboration with a patient organization, and aims to identify ways to improve access and uptake, with results expected to inform national HIV policy and care.
- Olivia Borchmann, MD, PhD student, Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark is conducting The PRO-CARE study which will assess symptom burden and psychosocial concerns of people with HIV and assess and evaluate PRO use. The findings from the PRO-CARE study will contribute nuanced and in-depth evidence-based knowledge of the usefulness of PRO in HIV care.
- Dorthe Raben, MSc Deputy Director of Research Coordination, CHIP Health, Immunity and Infections, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark will conduct Implementing Opt-out BBV screening in Emergency Departments: Danish Formative research supporting the development of European implementation guidelines, which aims to explore and evaluate optimal approaches to implement opt-out testing for BBV in Danish EDs. Findings will inform the development of European guidance on BBV screening in Eds.
- AnneMette Lebech, Professor, Senior Consultant, PhD, dr.med. Dept. of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark is conducting Reproductive health and psychosocial outcomes among women with HIV and their children and will show the reproductive health challenges still faced by WWH and psychosocial outcomes of their children by investigating referral rates for fertility treatment, psychosocial outcomes of children born to WWH and incidence of STIs, ectopic pregnancies and PIDs among WWH.
- Sanna Isosomppi, MD, Chief Epidemiologist of the City of Helsinki, Finland is conducting a retrospective registry analysis of the use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Finland from 2020 to 2025, describing availability of PrEP, dynamics of PrEP use and characteristics of people using PrEP. The study will aim at improving provision of PrEP, specifically by identifying potential underserved groups at risk that would benefit from PrEP.
Oncology:
One project has been selected in the field of oncology
- Saal Lao, MD, Associate Professor at Lund University, Sweden, focuses on translational cancer research with an emphasis on breast cancer genomics and precision medicine. His research aims to identify molecular biomarkers and therapeutic targets that can improve patient stratification and treatment outcomes.
Continuing a Tradition of Supporting Research
By providing funding for more than 100 research initiatives since 2013, each aimed at improving patient care and advancing scientific understanding, the Gilead Sciences Nordic Fellowship Programme has been a much-appreciated contributor to medical research in the Nordics.
ND-UNB-0196 | December 2025