Björn Dahlbäck (born 1949) is a Swedish physician, medical researcher, and professor of clinical chemistry, specializing in

hematology Hematology (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to bloo ...

and the molecular mechanisms of blood coagulation. He determined that activated protein C (APC) resistance is the most common inherited risk factor of

venous thrombosis Venous thrombosis is the blockage of a vein caused by a thrombus (blood clot). A common form of venous thrombosis is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), when a blood clot forms in the deep veins. If a thrombus breaks off ( embolizes) and flows to the lu ...

Education and career

Dahlbäck graduated with an M.D. from

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

and then completed his medical internship and residency at

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

's University Hospital, which is now merged into

Skåne University Hospital Skåne University Hospital (Swedish: ''Skånes universitetssjukhus'', SUS) is a university hospital in Scania, Sweden. The hospital was founded in 2010 through the merger of the two university hospitals in Lund and Malmö. Operations Skåne Univ ...

. In 1981 he received from Lund University his doctorate with dissertation ''The activation of prothrombin on the platelet surface'' under the supervision of Johan Stenflo. Dahlbäck was a postdoc at

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

Scripps Research Scripps Research is a nonprofit American medical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the institute has over 170 laboratories employing 2,100 scientists, tec ...

, where his supervisor was

Hans J. Müller-Eberhard Hans Joachim Müller-Eberhard (born Hans Joachim Müller, 5 May 1927, Magdeburg was a distinguished molecular immunologist who did pioneering research in the United States and his native Germany. The areas of investigation upon which he left his ...

, and later was a visiting scholar at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF). In 1989 at Lund University, Dahlbäck was appointed a full professor of clinical chemistry, specializing in hematology and cardiac and cardiovascular systems. He is also the director of the blood coagulation unit at Malmö General Hospital. (in French) His research was important in showing that APC resistance is caused by a harmful mutation in the ''F5'' gene corresponding to the protein

Factor V Coagulation factor V (Factor V), also less commonly known as proaccelerin or labile factor, is a protein involved in coagulation, encoded, in humans, by ''F5'' gene. In contrast to most other coagulation factors, it is not enzymatically active b ...

; the specific mutation was subsequently identified by several groups of researchers and is now called

Factor V Leiden Factor V Leiden (rs6025 or ''F5'' p.R506Q) is a variant (mutated form) of human factor V (one of several substances that helps blood clot), which causes an increase in blood clotting (hypercoagulability). Due to this mutation, protein C, an anticoa ...

. In 2013, Dahlbäck and colleagues identified the ''F5'' gene mutation that causes the phenotype called "east Texas bleeding disorder". He has received several honors and awards, including in 1996 the

Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine Established in 1986, the Louis-Jeantet Prizes are funded by the Louis-Jeantet Foundation, ''Fondation Louis-Jeantet'' and awarded each year to experienced researchers who have distinguished themselves in the field of biomedical research in one ...

and in 2019 H. M. The King's Medal (''H.M. Konungens Medalj'') of the 12th size from the

Royal Court of Sweden The Royal Court () is the official name for the organisation ( royal households) that supports the monarch and the royal house. The incumbent monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf, is head of the Royal Court. Organizational structure The Royal Court is d ...

. He is a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

. In 2000, ''

Academic Press Academic Press (AP) is an academic book publisher founded in 1941. It launched a British division in the 1950s. Academic Press was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier said in 2000 it would buy Harcourt, a deal complete ...

'' published ''Hematology: Landmark Papers of the Twentieth Century '', which included the 1994 paper ''Resistance to activated protein C as a basis for venous thrombosis'' by Peter J. Svensson and Björn Dahlbäck.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dahlback, Bjorn 1949 births Living people 20th-century Swedish physicians 21st-century Swedish physicians Hematologists Lund University alumni Academic staff of Lund University Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences