Lund University
Lund, Sweden
Kristian Pietras is the Grosskopf Professor of Molecular Medicine at Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Pietras was awarded a Ph.D. in 2002 at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Uppsala University, Sweden. Next, he performed postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco in the laboratory of Douglas Hanahan. Upon his return to Sweden, Pietras developed an independent line of research at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, and in 2012 he was recruited to Lund University as ta Full Professor by direct appointment from the Vice Chancellor. Pietras is the founding Director of Lund University Cancer Centre and has served as the Chairperson of the Young Academy of Sweden.
Pietras has made important contributions in relation to molecularly defining tumors as communicating organs comprising multiple different cell types that collectively sustain cancer initiation and progression (for recent examples, see Roswall et al, Nature Med 2018; Bartoschek et al, Nature Comm 2018; Cortez et al, PNAS 2016). The research aims to transform new concepts of basic biology into therapeutic strategies that inspire clinical exploration in cancer patients and the collected research output establishes the Pietras laboratory as a well-positioned link between basic science, clinical oncology and the pharmaceutical industry.
Pietras has received numerous awards for his research, most notably the Anders Jahre’s Medical Prize for young scientists by Oslo University in 2012, The Fernström Award for Young Scientist by Lund University in 2017 and the Göran Gustafsson award by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2019.
