The deadline for applying to the Letten Prize has past. We are very excited to have received 164 applications this round. Even better, our applicants are from all around the world.
Our applicants – Who are they?
164 applications
from 76 nationalities
Gender balance: 50% woman, 50 % men
Applicants from (institution location) Europe: 33% (35%) Africa: 24% (19%) Asia: 20% (20%) Middle East: 8% (7%) South America: 8% (5%) North America: 4% (7%) Oceania: 2% (5%)
Web Traffic
The photo above shows our web traffic and where it came from over the passed courter.
December 7th the Letten Foundation and the Young Academy of Norway signed a new cooperation agreement regarding the Letten Prize. The new agreement is on a permanent and secures the next Letten Prize for 2023 and beyond.
From the left: Bjørn Kristian Danbolt (General Secretary of the Young Academy of Norway), Nils Hallvard Korsvoll (Chair of the Young Academy of Norway), Ernst Alsaker (Chair of the Letten Foundation) and Borghild Roald (Vice-chair of the Letten Foundation).
The prize a binnual award and its purpose remains “to recognize younger researchers’ contributions in the fields of health, development, environment and equality in all aspects of human life’. Furthermore, ‘the prize aims to raise public awareness of how research can be used to solve global human development challenges”
The next Letten Prize will be awarded at September 7th 2023 in Oslo.
It has been about a year since the second awarding of the Letten Prize. We now call for new applications.
Do you know a deserving young researcher who have conducted research aimed at solving global challenges within the fields of health, environment, and equality in all aspects of human life? Or perhaps this description fits you? Do not hesitate to review the criteria for Letten Prize applications and share the news with deserving colleges.
The winner is awarded 2,5 million NOK of which ¼ is for personal use and ¾ is to be used for research activities.
The 2023 Letten Prize call for applications opens on October 19, 2022 and stays open until February 6, 2023.
Oslo, 17 June 2021: Infectious disease specialist Meta Roestenberg of Leiden University Medical Center, is the winner of the 2021 Letten Prize. She has dedicated her life to harness and deploy her scientific and professional expertise to serve the poorest and the underprivileged people of the world.
The main purpose of the Letten Prize is to recognise younger researchers’ contributions in the fields of health, development, environment and equality in all aspects of human life. Meta Roestenberg has established an international network of vaccine researchers in Uganda, Zambia, India, and Burkina Faso, which allows transfer of knowledge and exchange of staff. Her efforts will have a great impact on solution of poverty-related infectious diseases in countries where the clinical need is highest.
“Professor Roestenberg’s achievements and vision meet all the criteria listed in the call for the Letten Prize. She has contributed significantly to the research on the infectious diseases prevalent in countries with low resources, and her engagement and outreach extend way beyond her excellent academic achievements in the area of health,” says Heidi Holmen, chair of the Letten Prize Committee. She continues: “From an impressive diversity of truly global applicants, three candidates were shortlisted, from whom Meta Roestenbergwas chosen as the winner.”
Prize money dedicated to cost-effective vaccination The Letten Prize winner is awarded 2 million NOK, and the main part of the prize money is reserved for research activities promoted by the winner. In Meta Roestenberg’s research proposal, she seeks to establish cost-effective vaccination programs in prevention of neglected infectious diseases by engaging Ph.D. students and encouraging the research associated with vaccine development.
“Meta Roestenberg aims to train a new generation of mainly female scientists and physicians in order to extend the benefits of science to a global health,” says Heidi Holmen.
Malaria Roestenberg never set out to be a physician, but she was good at science, and so felt that medicine might be the best way to use her talents. She undertook a PhD on malaria vaccines at Radboud University Nijmegen, and since then has dedicated her career to finding a way to prevent malaria.
The parasites are completely adapted to the human immune system, and may have ways to actually manipulate the immune system so that it doesn’t respond vigorously. For a malaria vaccine to work, it has to overcome this manipulation. With the support of the Letten Prize, Roestenberg is planning a rigorous clinical trial in which healthy volunteers will be given a dose of a malaria vaccine candidate. She hopes that if the trial is successful, it opens the door to a new method of vaccine development.
She is also planning to document the process of conducting the trial on film, so it can be used as a resource by research teams elsewhere in the world.
Runners up The two other short-listed candidates were Ramona Vijeyarasa, a lawyer from Australia, and Tolullah Oni, a public health physician from Nigeria. Read more about the runners-up here.
About the Letten Prize: The Letten Prize was launched in March 2018 by the Young Academy of Norway and the Letten Foundation to recognize younger researchers’ contributions in the fields of health, development, environment and equality in all aspects of human life. The prize of 2 million NOK will be awarded biennially to a young researcher under the age of 45 conducting excellent research of great social relevance. In 2018 Tarunabh Khaitan, a lawyer from India, won the prize.
About the Letten Foundation: Professor Letten F. Saugstad (1925 – 2014) founded the Letten Foundation in 1986 to promote basic research, especially in the field of birth defects and certain aspects of mental illness, which increases the knowledge of brain structure and function. The foundation also prioritizes studies of health effects associated with environmental pollution and other adversities that add to the understanding of the relation of man to his environment. The Letten Foundation gives educational grants, organizes international conferences and gives awards to outstanding achievements.
The Letten Prize Committeehas concluded its work Recruited through the Young Academy Network through Global Young Academy, The Prize Committee has consisted of seven young excellent researchers from all over the world.
Before the committee went to work, all applications were evaluated by members of The Young Academy of Norway, and the best applications were handed to The Letten Prize Committee.
The committee received a long-list consisting of 25 candidates. Through meetings, e-mail exchanges, and interviews they concluded their work and sent a recommendation to the Letten Prize Board who in turn made the final decision.
The winner and runners-up for The Letten Prize will be announced June 17 at 12:00 CEST
The winner is awarded 2 million NOK of which ¼ is for personal usage and ¾ is to be used for research activities.
After the announcement, The World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ) will host online events for journalists. The events will be recorded and published on The Letten Prize’s YouTube Channel.
