Nobel Media and AstraZeneca bring Nobel Laureate Bruce Beutler to Boston

On June 11-12, 2012, as part of a worldwide initiative between Nobel Media AB, the company responsible for media rights for the Nobel Prize and AstraZeneca, a global innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company, students, researchers and staff at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and AstraZeneca’s Boston based Research and Development facility will have the opportunity to meet and learn from 2011 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine Dr Bruce Beutler.

Dr Beutler was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2011 along with fellow recipient Jules Hoffman for their discoveries concerning the activation of the innate immunity.  Their findings helped identify the receptors which activate the innate immune system and provide immediate defense against infection, making their work highly relevant to therapies within autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. At the Whitehead Institute, Dr Beutler will give a lecture entitled, “How Microbes Activate the Immune System: A Forward Genetic Approach” followed by an open question and answer session. On June 12, Dr Beutler will further lecture to scientists at AstraZeneca’s R&D site on “Random Germline Mutagenesis in the Analysis of Immunity”; on both days he will participate in smaller, roundtable discussions with graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, researchers and senior scientists.

The event is part of the AstraZeneca Nobel Medicine Initiative, a global cooperation to bring the inspiring achievements of Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine to the attention of a worldwide audience and the Initiative has included similar events in China, India and Europe. The goal of the Initiative is to inspire the scientific community and others by sharing information on Nobel Prize awarded achievements and demonstrating how such discoveries are critical to advancing our understanding of how the human body works.

Speaking about his visit, Dr Beutler said, "It's a true pleasure to take part in the AstraZeneca Nobel Medicine Initiative, and visit both the Whitehead Institute and AstraZeneca's research site in Boston. The community of top researchers and scientists at both ensures that the conversations will be compelling; I look forward to discussing with them the research that led to my Nobel Prize and to exploring new developments in immunity and infection."

“The need for new medicines at the global level to fight serious diseases is urgent and growing,” said Dr Manos Perros, Head of AstraZeneca’s Boston research centre, which has scientific teams working in specialised areas including immunology, infectious diseases, oncology and neuroscience.  “Hearing from scientists of the caliber of Dr. Beutler is a great privilege and opportunity to learn about advances that could help in the discovery and development of new medicines. AstraZeneca is very proud to be associated with the AstraZeneca Nobel Medicine Initiative and the advancement of scientific research.”

Nobel Media, as the co-organizer of the AstraZeneca Nobel Medicine Initiative event, plays a vital role in spreading knowledge about the Nobel Prize awarded achievements through broadcast and digital media, events and publishing worldwide. Ms Camilla Hyltén-Cavallius, CEO for Nobel Media, commented, "We are very proud of the AstraZeneca Nobel Medicine Initiative lecture program and we are delighted to continue to bring it to a global audience. We're truly happy to have Dr Bruce Beutler, the 2011 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, engaged in this exciting program and we are certain that students and researchers will be inspired by their interaction with him.”

Media Contacts

Merci Olsson

Nobel Media AB
Marketing and Communications Director

E-mail: merci.olsson@nobelmedia.se

Tel: +46 738 52 35 95

Jennifer Robinson

AstraZeneca R&D Boston

Email: jennifer.robinson@astrazeneca.com

Tel: +1 781 472 5137

About Nobel Laureate, Dr Bruce Beutler

Bruce Beutler shared one half of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Jules Hoffman for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity. He is currently a Regental Professor and Director of the Center for Genetics of Host Defense at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Prior to this, Beutler was based at the Scripps Research Institute, where he developed the largest mouse mutagenesis program in the world. He has received many accolades and honors in addition to receiving the Nobel Prize, including most recently the Shaw Prize (2011) and the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research (2009).

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2011/beutler.html

About Nobel Media AB

Nobel Media AB aims to spread knowledge and interest in the Nobel Prize awarded achievements to a global audience, through digital and broadcast media, publishing and events. Included in Nobel Media’s portfolio is Nobelprize.org, the official web site of the Nobel Prize, which currently receives over 45 million visitors. Production of official television programmes consists of The Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo, The Nobel Banquet, Nobel Documentaries, Nobel Minds, Nobel Laureates and the Nobel Prize Concert. Through these programmes, over 250 million viewers are reached all over the world.

For more information please visit: http://www.nobelprize.org,  @Nobelprize_org  on Twitter, www.facebook.com/Nobelprize.org, www.youtube.com/nobelprize

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Disclaimer: Nobel Media AB is not directly nor indirectly involved in the process of nominating or selecting Nobel Laureates. These procedures are strictly confidential and regulated by the Nobel Prize awarding institutions.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and infectious disease. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information please visit: www.astrazeneca.com