There are about ten times more bacteria in our intestinal tract than we have cells in our body. Their genes complement our own and influence how we process and absorb nutrients from food. Fredrik Bäckhed's research focus has been to investigate how the gut flora affects our physiology and whether it can contribute to the development of metabolic diseases. Among other things, Bäckhed's research shows that germ-free mice do not develop obesity.

- It feels incredibly gratifying to be awarded this prize, which is an acknowledgement of the work that the research group has done for more than ten years. The Söderberg Professorship gives us the opportunity to continue the long-term work of investigating how the intestinal flora is linked to metabolic diseases. In particular, we will investigate the mechanisms by which a diabetes-causing intestinal flora can contribute to the development of the disease," says Fredrik Bäckhed.

Fredrik Bäckhed received his PhD from Karolinska Institutet in 2002 with a thesis on how e-coli bacteria, which are part of the normal flora of the gut, can cause urinary tract infections. As a postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis, he continued to research the health-promoting properties of gut bacteria.

Fredrik Bäckhed has been a professor of molecular medicine since 2012 and currently leads a research group at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, which specializes in the importance of the gut microbiota for health. Together with colleagues, he has shown in several high-profile studies that metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease are directly linked to changes in the bacterial flora in our intestines.