Announcing Young Investigator Awards 2025

The EAS Young Investigator Awards 2025 celebrate outstanding early-career researchers for their exceptional contributions to atherosclerosis and related metabolic disorders. Each award, valued at €2,000, honors groundbreaking publications that advance scientific knowledge in these fields.

This year’s winners in both the Basic and Clinical categories will present their papers on the EAS Stage in the exhibition area during the EAS Congress in Glasgow on Tuesday, May 6.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear about their impactful work!

We are delighted to announce this year’s winners for their outstanding research:

Basic Science Award

NK2R Control of Energy Expenditure and Feeding to Treat Metabolic Diseases

Published in: Nature
Awardee: Frederike Sass, Novo Nordisk Center for Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08207-0https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08207-0

Frederike Sass received her PhD from the University of Copenhagen under the mentorship of Zach Gerhart-Hines in 2024. Her doctoral work established the Neurokinin 2 Receptor (NK2R) as a novel therapeutic target for obesity and metabolic diseases. In 2025, Frederike joined the laboratory of Martin Myers at the University of Michigan as a Michigan Pioneer Postdoctoral Fellow.

Her research focuses on integrating peripheral and central mechanisms of metabolic control to identify new therapeutic strategies for cardiometabolic diseases.

Dr. Frederike Sass is awarded the 2025 EAS Young Investigator Award for her groundbreaking research on NK2R agonism as a novel therapeutic approach for cardiometabolic diseases. Her work provides a transformative strategy for addressing diabetic dyslipidemia, demonstrating an innovative dual mechanism that reduces food intake while increasing energy expenditure, without the common side effects of existing treatments. With an impressive interdisciplinary approach and exceptional scientific maturity, Dr. Sass has already made significant contributions to the field, positioning herself as a future leader in metabolic disease research.

Clinical Science Award

Lipoprotein(a) Is Markedly More Atherogenic Than LDL: An Apolipoprotein B-Based Genetic Analysis

Awardee: Elias Björnson, University of Gothenburg, Institute of Medicine, Gothenburg, Sweden
Published in: Journal of the American College of Cardiology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.10.03

Dr. Björnson’s research focuses on apoB-containing lipoproteins in cardiovascular disease, using Mendelian randomization to assess the atherogenicity of remnant lipoproteins, LDL, and Lp(a). His work in SCAPIS explores subclinical atherosclerosis and risk prediction.

His PhD research investigated lipoprotein metabolism, including kinetic modeling of apoB100- and apoB48-containing lipoproteins and the effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists and PCSK9 inhibitors.

Disclosures: Consultancy for Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals and Ribocure Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Björnson’s study provides groundbreaking insights into the atherogenicity of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], demonstrating that it is significantly more atherogenic than LDL on a per-particle basis. By employing a novel Mendelian andomization approach, the research offers crucial implications for cardiovascular risk assessment and treatment strategies. This impactful work advances our understanding of Lp(a) as a key therapeutic target, making it a deserving winner of the EAS Young Investigator Award.

Runners-up

In addition to the main awardees, the EAS Young Investigator Awards recognize outstanding contributions from runners-up in both the Basic and Clinical categories. Their exceptional research further advances our understanding of atherosclerosis and related metabolic disorders. Congratulations to this year’s runners-up for their impactful work!

Runners-up Basic Science Award

• Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Contributes to Accelerated Atherosclerosis in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome
  Name: M. Hamcyk, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus, Denmark
  Published in: Circulation
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.065768

• Identification of a non-canonical chemokine-receptor pathway suppressing regulatory T cells to drive atherosclerosis
  Name: E. van der Vorst, Uniklinikum Aachen, Germany
  Published in: Nature Cardiovascular Research
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-023-00413-9

Runners-up Clinical Science Award

• Inflammatory Risk and Cardiovascular Events in Patients Without Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease: The ORFAN Multicentre, Longitudinal Cohort Study
  Name: K. Chan, Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, NIHR Oxford, Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
  Published in: The Lancet
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/ S0140-6736(24)00596-8

• Genetic Inhibition of Angiopoietin-Like Protein-3, Lipids, and Cardiometabolic Risk
  Name: E. Gobeil, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
  Published in: European Heart Journal
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehad845