On Monday, His Royal Highness Prince Daniel of Sweden handed out the Heart-Lung Foundation’s research grant to a young and promising researcher. The event took place at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, with this year’s research grant going to André Nyberg.
The Heart-Lung Foundation annually awards ‘Prince Daniel’s grant to younger promising researchers’ which is a grant of SEK 6 million and is spread over three years and gives the researcher the opportunity to work concentrated on achieving a research breakthrough that can benefit patients and care.
2021 recipient André Nyberg, associate professor at the Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation at Umeå University, has been awarded the grant for his research on treatments with high-intensity and short-term interval training, which can improve quality of life and prognosis in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
COPD is a serious health problem that can lead to poor lung function, reduced quality of life and ability to work, long hospital stays and a shortened life. The number of people affected in Sweden is currently estimated at 400,000-700,000 people.
The purpose of the research project is to evaluate a new form of treatment for COPD patients, consisting of very short high-intensity training intervals. The hypothesis is that this form of exercise is particularly effective in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease because the short intervals enable training with very high intensity, which overall reduces the load on the lungs compared to conventional cardio training.
If the method is feasible, safe and has positive effects, it may transform the treatment of changes outside the lungs in COPD patients. This can have great significance for the individual patient’s quality of life and prognosis.
The Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation was founded in 1904 and then Crown Prince Gustaf, later His Majesty King Gustaf V, was its first patron. Since 2014, His Royal Highness Prince Daniel has been the patron of the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation.
