Matthew Picklo, PhD, a scientist at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences neuroscience lab, has been awarded the prestigious international Esterbauer Award for 2008 for his research into the damage caused by free radicals in the body. The award, given to one researcher worldwide every two years, will be presented to Picklo at an international meeting in Nagano, Japan, this fall. “I was very surprised that I got this award, but also very pleased,” says Picklo, associate professor in the medical school’s Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Therapeutics and adjunct professor in the UND Department of Chemistry. Picklo has been invited to present his work at the fall meeting in Japan. He studies oxidative damage to lipids, caused by what commonly are known as “free radicals,” products of normal, everyday living that accumulate with age. Usually, the body disposes of these free radicals, but this requires the presence of antioxidants (found in popular nutritional supplements, such as vitamins E and C and omega-three fish oil).

“Oxidative (or free radical) damage is a toxic hallmark of multiple diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and atherosclerosis,” notes Picklo. “My laboratory studies how the brain gets rid of these toxins” produced by the action of free radicals in the body. By understanding these pathways, we can develop potential therapeutic strategies.”

The Esterbauer Award is given by the Vienna, Austria-based International HNE-Club, an informal group of researchers with wide interests spanning all aspects of lipid oxidation and other types of oxidation. The International HNE-Club is a Group of Interest within the International Society for Free Radical Research.