Guests at the Melbourne breakfast seminar applauded as Professor Markku Mäki was awarded the inaugural PQLPY Prize sponsored by Inova, Integrated Sciences and Nexpep for his contribution to coeliac disease awareness and diagnosis. The PQLPY Prize will be awarded by the Coeliac Research Fund from time to time when a suitable recipient is identified that has made a significant contribution in the field of coeliac disease awareness, diagnosis or research. Dr Bob Anderson presented the prize to Professor Mäki highlighting the contribution, over many years, Professor Mäki has made to coeliac disease.
PQLPY is the core sequence of the immundominant gluten epitope in coeliac disease.
An outstanding contribution
Professor Markku Mäki, MD, PhD is the Chair and Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Tampere and Tampere University Hospital in Finland and is one of the world’s foremost innovative opinion leaders in coeliac disease.
More than two decades ago, he joined the Finnish Coeliac Society began research that was inspired by the needs of coeliac sufferers. Markku Mäki was soon leading a multi-diciplinary Coeliac Disease Study Group including paediatricians, primary care physicians, internists, dentists, dermatologists, neurologists, epidemiologists, and life science researchers. The outcome of his group research is the understanding of the broad clinical spectrum of gluten-induced disease entities, the correct use of serologic biomarker tests and a rapid point of care test in the primary health care, leading to a 20-fold increase of diagnosed coeliac disease in adults in Finland.
Professor Mäki was elected as the President of the nationwide Finnish Coeliac Society, and he is still the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. He is a permanent member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and the President of Finland granted him the honour of Knight, First Class, of the Order of the White Rose of Finland in 2006. Professor Mäki has published over 200 scientific articles on coeliac disease in international journals, many of which have made significant contribution to the understanding of coeliac disease.
The CRF has launched a DVD for children which explains in simple language what coeliac disease is, who is involved during the diagnosis process, what to expect during diagnosis and managing coeliac disease with a gluten free diet. The DVD targets children from the age of 8 upwards and it is hoped, that by understanding their condition, children will become their own best little experts on coeliac disease.
