Jan Holmgren

Jan R. Holmgren (* 1944 ) is a Swedish medic, known for researching cholera and developing vaccines against it. He has been Professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Gothenburg since 1980, succeeding Örjan Ouchterlony .

Holmgren received his PhD in 1969. In addition to his professorship, he is director of the Institute for Vaccine Research at the University of Gothenburg (GUVAX).

He deals with mucosal immunology and especially cholera. He discovered the AB subunit of the cholera toxin and its function and the GM1 ganglioside as a receptor for the toxin. He developed a cholera vaccine (oral B subunit-whole cell cholera vaccine) and one against ETEC . From parts of the cholera toxin, he also developed agents in his group to regulate the immune response in autoimmune diseases.

In 1994 he received the Louis Jeantet Prize . He also received the Swedish Academy of Sciences Prize for Medicine (Hilda and Alfred Erikssons Prize) in 1977 and the Söderbergska Prize of the Swedish Medical Society in 1994. For 2018 Holmgren was awarded the Prince Mahidol Prize . He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Swedish Engineering Academy. He is on the council of the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

Fonts

• with C. Czerkinsky: Mucosal immunity and vaccines. Nature Med., Vol. 11, 2005, pp. 45-53
• with J. Sanchez: Virulence factors, pathogenesis and vaccine protection in cholera and ETEC diarrhea, Curr Opin in Immunology, Volume 17, 2005, pp. 388-398.
• with J.Sanchez: Cholera toxin structure, gene regulation and pathophysiological and immunological aspects, Cell Mol. Life Sci., Volume 65, 2008, pp. 1347-1360

Web links

• Website at the University of Gothenburg