Helga Margrét Ögmundsdóttir (born 1948) is an Icelandic academic. She is a former

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the University of Iceland.

Personal life

Helga Margrét Ögmundsdóttir was born in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

in 1948. Her father was Icelandic, and her mother was German. Helga's husband is Peter Holbrook,

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...

and former professor, and they have two sons.

Professional experience

Helga graduated with a medical degree from the University of Iceland in 1975 and a PhD in immunology from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in 1979. After returning home in 1981 from studies and work in Edinburgh, she worked for the first few years in the Department of Virology at Landspitali University Hospital. Then, in 1987, the Icelandic Cancer Society appointed her to establish the

Molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

and

Cell Biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

Research Laboratory, which she then directed along with Jórunn Erla Eyfjörð, molecular geneticist. The laboratory moved to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Iceland in 2008. It is now called the Cancer Research Laboratory. From 2001, Helga was a professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Iceland. She taught Icelandic medical students cell biology from 1986 until she stopped working in 2018. The last 20 years of her professional life, Helga focused on building up research training for master's and doctoral degrees at UI's Faculty of Medicine. During these years, the doctoral programme developed from being 1-3 dissertation defences per year to being well above 10 per year in 2018.

Research

Helga engaged in research and teaching, but she was also involved in diverse administrative work in

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

research and research-related graduate studies. Helga has been engaged in a variety of different research projects, starting from early research on

innate immunity The innate immune system or nonspecific immune system is one of the two main immunity strategies in vertebrates (the other being the adaptive immune system). The innate immune system is an alternate defense strategy and is the dominant immune s ...

. With the move to the Icelandic Cancer Society

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

became the main subject, including studies on various aspects of

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

and

cytogenetics Cytogenetics is essentially a branch of genetics, but is also a part of cell biology/cytology (a subdivision of human anatomy), that is concerned with how the chromosomes relate to cell behaviour, particularly to their behaviour during mitosis an ...

. She participated in international Biobank-based research on cancer causes. Furthermore, projects linking

immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

and

malignancy Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse; the term is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous ''benign'' tumor in that a malignancy is not ...

by studying the genetic and biological basis of malignancies affecting antibody-producing cells. Finally, in collaboration with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (

Kristín Ingólfsdóttir Kristín Ingólfsdóttir is an Icelandic pharmaceutical scientist and former president and rector of the University of Iceland. She served two terms from 2005 to 2015 and was the first woman to hold office in the university's 100-year history. S ...

) and the Department of Chemistry, investigations on the effects of natural compounds (particularly lichen-derived and from marine invertebrates) and novel organometallic compounds on cancer cells.

Awards

In 1999, Helga received Iceland's

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

for her scientific work and, in 2005, along with Jórunn Erla Eyfjörð, she was awarded the annual prize from the Ása Guðmundsdóttir Wright Memorial Fund. In addition, in 2018 on its centenary, the Icelandic Medical Association honoured Helga for her work in building up research-related studies in the Faculty of Medicine. The same year, a symposium was held in her honour on "Cancer Research and Quality in Graduate Studies".

Other work

Helga was on the Executive Committee of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) for 10 years. She was its secretary from 1998 to 2004 and is an honorary member of the association. She chaired the Science Committee of the University of Iceland from 2006 to 2011Háskóli Íslands
Nefndir háskólaráðs. Starfsnefndir. Vísindanefnd – ársskýrslur vísindanefndar
Retrieved 31 March 2020. and was the rector's representative on Selection Committees for appointments to Academic positions from 2008 to 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogmundsdottir, Helga Margret 1948 births Living people Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Helga Margret Ogmundsdottir Helga Margret Ogmundsdottir Helga Margret Ogmundsdottir Helga Margret Ogmundsdottir Icelandic women academics