The Hellsing Prize is awarded each year to the author or authors whom the editors consider to have written the best article in Klinisk Biokemi I Norden during the preceding year. Both the content and the language must be of particularly high quality. The prize was established in 2006 to honor the memory of KBN’s founder, Kristoffer Hellsing.
In 2025 there are two winners:
Ian Wilhelm Hägerström is the first author of the article MicroRNAs as novel biomarkers in cardiovascular diseases in issue number 4 2025. The three co-authors are Mikko Hänninen, Tuomas Mäntylä and Päivi Lakkisto. Ian is a doctoral researcher and medical student at the University of Helsinki. He has been conducting research at the Minerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research in the Cardiovascular Research Group, focusing on non-coding RNAs in ischemic heart disease and heart failure.
Trine Baur Opstad wrote the article Telomere Length in issue number 4 in 2025. She is a biomedical laboratory scientist and biologist, with a master’s degree and a PhD in molecular biology, working as a senior scientist at the Oslo Center for Clinical Heart Research at Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål.
As usual, the prize consists of an artwork – which may perhaps inspire the recipients to write more high‑quality articles for KBN. This year’s Hellsing Prize is the 18th to be awarded, and it is the first time that a Finnish author has received the honor. We congratulate both prize winners and once again thank them for two outstanding articles.
