Göran Jönsson, professor in molecular oncology at Lund University, receives the award "for his pioneering work in describing the genetic and molecular landscape, as well as the importance of tertiary lymphoid structures, in melanoma".
The research group were able to show that specific clusters of B cells in melanoma tumors, so-called tertiary lymphoid structures, are related to prognosis and how the patient responds to treatment. This finding might explain why some patients with malignant melanoma respond better to immunotherapy than others.
The Göran Gustafsson Prize is a research grant of 5.1 million SEK for a period of 3 years, and a personal prize of 250,000 SEK.
Link to press release from The Royal Academy of Science (SWE)