Olga Göransson, an Assistant Professor at the University of Lund, Sweden, and Kei Sakamoto, Programme Leader in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit, have been awarded an international collaboration grant (1050,000 Swedish Krona; approximately £90,000 sterling) from the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education. This grant is aimed at helping younger researchers in Sweden to build up international collaborations with scientists in other countries who are in a similar position to themselves. Olga and Kei met during the period 2003-2006, when they were both postdoctoral fellows in Dario Alessi 's laboratory in the MRC-PPU and they started to run their own independent research groups at about the same time. Olga and Kei are both interested in understanding the physiological roles of the protein kinase LKB1 and how the signaling pathways it activates are regulated. Their collaboration has already led to the publication of several joint papers. The grant that has just been awarded will accelerate their research projects and also provide an opportunity for students and postdoctoral fellows in their groups to visit each other's laboratories and learn new techniques.

Olga Göransson commented:

"I'm really thrilled about having received this grant, which will enable me to develop my collaboration with Kei. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together, and I think that interacting with a top international institute like the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit is going to be a great experience for me and my co-workers. "