Mette Viuff receives the AUFF talent Prize and DKK 50,000 for her research into Turner syndrome - a chromosome disease caused by a fully or partially absent X chromosome that results in symptoms such as reduced growth in height and fertility problems. Around 1,000 women and girls have been diagnosed with the syndrome in Denmark.

Mette Viuff’s research challenges conventional understanding of the causes of the disease, and it has demonstrated that more than just the absence of the genes on the X chromosomal makes patients sick.

"The common understanding has been that if you lack this gene, you’ll suffer from the syndrome. But we’ve shown that it is not as simple. There’s a huge interaction between mechanisms," she says.

Mette Viuff’s PhD research has also shown that women with Turner syndrome who receive life-long oestrogen treatment only experience beneficial effects from the treatment, even though oestrogen treatment usually increases the risk of thrombosis and cancer.

Mette is currently working as an obstetrician at Aarhus University Hospital, and during her spare time she is contributing to a new research project on Turner syndrome. The award from the Aarhus University Research Foundation is in recognition of Mette Viuff’s important contribution to genetics and epidemiology.

You can learn more about Mette Viuff's research in the video here:

Contact

Mette Hansen Viuff MD and PhD
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine - Endocrinology and Internal Medicine
Email: metteviuff@clin.au.dk