It will be a big change in many ways for David Fenyö as he now gets the possibility to return to Sweden after 34 years in the US. Thanks to a grant of SEK 50 million from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, he can now move his research in precision medicine to Lund University. And he is familiar with Sweden from childhood.
"We came from Hungary to Sweden when I was five years old and spoke Hungarian at home. I went to Swedish school and even did my PhD in physics at Uppsala University in the 1990s."
David Fenyö expresses himself fluently in Swedish. Yet he believes that English is the language he finds easiest - especially when it comes to research.
After completing his PhD, David Fenyö decided to try something new by moving to the US to do his postdoc in biology. Today, he is a professor of biochemistry, molecular pharmacology and biomedical engineering at New York University (NYU), which is situated right on the banks of the East River in Manhattan. It is a stark contrast to Lund with its small-town feel and picturesque terraced houses.
"I like what I've seen of Lund and the move feels very exciting! I'm also impressed by Lund University, where I feel there's a good collaborative atmosphere. The proximity to the hospital is, of course, absolutely vital and it facilitates collaboration when you bump into clinicians in your day-to-day work."
Both statistical and traditional computational methods
David Fenyö's field of research is tumour biology - primarily gynaecological cancer and lung cancer. Thanks to rapid technological developments, it has become easy to generate large amounts of data, but there is still a lack of computational methods required to interpret this biological data in depth. By developing new methods for analysing large amounts of data, he hopes to link molecular changes to disease and treatment effects.
"We use both statistical and traditional computational methods, and not least AI, to determine what is worth measuring and what kind of information is useful."
In one of his research projects, David Fenyö is investigating why immunotherapy works for some patients but not for others. In the case of cervical cancer, around half of the patients respond to the treatment, whilst only a small proportion of patients with ovarian cancer do so. At present, it is not possible to predict who will benefit from the treatment. To better understand which patients are suitable candidates for this type of therapy, David Fenyö is therefore studying how proteins are organised in tissue samples. The aim is to identify patterns that distinguish between patients who benefit from the treatment and those who do not.
"One of the biggest challenges in the US is gaining access to a sufficiently large pool of patient samples, as the healthcare system is highly fragmented. I believe and hope that this may be easier in Sweden."
Another challenge in the US is that, in recent years, funding has become increasingly uncertain and it has been difficult to secure money for ambitious projects. Through the Kurt and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, David Fenyö now has a completely different opportunity to plan his research for the long term.
"A great asset"
Gunilla Westergren-Thorsson is a professor of respiratory medicine and director of the Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine at Lund University.
She has been involved in the recruitment of David Fenyö and emphasises how strategic this appointment is, as his work is at the absolute forefront of integrating clinical and molecular data to improve patient care. She highlights as key factors his strong interdisciplinary focus and ability to build bridges between disciplines:
"David will help to strengthen our research environments, develop new collaborations, both within the university and with the healthcare sector, and position us even more clearly within the national and international life sciences landscape. He is also a highly valued leader and mentor, with a strong commitment to developing the next generation of researchers. This will be a great asset for us going forward, says Gunilla Westergren-Thorsson."
