4.9.2024

Sahlgren and Jusslin are awarded the 2024 Chancellor’s Prize at Åbo Akademi University

Professor Cecilia Sahlgren and Senior Lecturer Sofia Jusslin both receive a prize from Chancellor Carl G. Gahmberg for their successful research at Åbo Akademi University. The prizes will be awarded in conjunction with Åbo Akademi University’s opening of the academic year in Turku on the 4th of September 2024 and in Vaasa on the 5th of September 2024.

Cecilia Sahlgren, Professor of Cell Biology, has been awarded the Chancellor’s Prize for Established Researchers at Åbo Akademi University for her outstanding research in cell biology, particularly in the areas of cell communication and signalling. Sahlgren earned her PhD in 2002 with a thesis focused on intermediate filaments, particularly the Nestin protein. Following her PhD, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institutet, where she demonstrated that Notch signalling is crucial for cancer cell movement and the invasion of surrounding tissues.

Sahlgren’s research has focused on the role of the Notch protein in cell signalling and stem cell development, with particular emphasis on how mechanical stress, such as blood pressure, influences Notch activity. She also discovered that the protein Vimentin regulates Notch protein ligands.

Sahlgren has served as a part-time professor at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, enhancing her research career by merging biological insights with technical expertise. She was the first at Åbo Akademi University to receive an ERC Consolidator Grant and was hence able to significantly expand her research group. She is an elected member of both the Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, and she actively advocates for public engagement in research and education.

– It is a great pleasure for me to present the Chancellor’s Award to Sahlgren, and I hope it will benefit her future career, says Chancellor Carl G. Gahmberg.

Sofia Jusslin, Senior Lecturer in Literacy Education, has been awarded the Chancellor’s Prize for Young Researchers at Åbo Akademi University. Jusslin earned her Master’s degree in Education in 2016. She defended her doctoral thesis in 2020 and was appointed Senior Lecturer in 2024. Her research focuses on three main areas: the didactics of reading and writing, the integration of arts and embodied learning in education, and academic writing. One area of particular interest is the integration of AI into the writing process, with the goal of establishing Åbo Akademi University as a leading institution in academic writing, particularly in Swedish.

Since completing her PhD, Sofia has published approximately 20 scientific papers, which have been widely recognised by peer reviewers for their high quality. She has recently been awarded a major research grant to lead the project “Collaborative Academic Writing in Hybrid Learning Spaces in Higher Education” (2025-2027). The project explores how a collaborative writing process influences interactions among students, as well as their engagement with external materials such as software and platforms.

Jusslin has supervised two master’s theses and four doctoral theses, serves as the editor-in-chief of Journal for Research in Arts and Sports Education, and leads the Nordic Early Literacy Education research group.

– It is evident that we have a truly outstanding researcher in the field of education, and it is a pleasure for me to award her the Chancellor’s Prize, says Gahmberg.

The laureates have been selected by a prize committee on the basis of faculty proposals and the quality and impact of their research. The prize fund of 40,000 euro will be divided, so that Sahlgren receives 25,000 euro and Jusslin 15,000 euro.

The academic year at Åbo Akademi University traditionally begins with enrolment on Wednesday, 4 September, in Turku, and on Thursday, 5 September, in Vaasa. Media representatives are welcome to attend.