Lundbeck Foundation supports Danish-American brain research
Three neuroscientists are each receiving DKK three million.
The Lundbeck Foundation has collaborated closely with the NIH Brain Initiative – the USA’s prestigious brain research programme – since 2016.
Each year, as a result of this collaboration, the Lundbeck Foundation funds neuroscientists at Danish universities and hospitals wishing to enter into partnerships with American colleagues within the scope of the NIH BRAIN Initiative.
‘The Lundbeck Foundation wishes to give Danish brain research a boost by funding collaboration between researchers at scientific institutions in Denmark and researchers abroad,’ says Line V Kristensen, scientific project manager at the Lundbeck Foundation. ‘The aim is to generate world-class neuro research at Danish universities and hospitals, and the Lundbeck Foundation “NIH Brain Initiative” programme is an element of this ambition.’
NIH – National Institutes of Health – is the USA’s major national medical research agency, and the NIH BRAIN Initiative was established in 2013 under President Barack Obama.
The main aim of the NIH BRAIN Initiative is to identify and develop new technologies to improve our understanding of how the brain works. In time, the intention is to find new ways of treating, curing and preventing brain disorders.
In 2021, the Lundbeck Foundation funded three researchers at Danish universities and hospitals by awarding them an NIH BRAIN Initiative grant.
The recipients, who each receive up to DKK three million over the course of three years:
Danish Institute of Translational Neuroscience (DANDRITE) at Aarhus University. His project receives funding of DKK 2,975,000.
Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance (DRCMR), Amager and Hvidovre Hospital. His project receives funding of DKK 2,980,000.
Centre for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Copenhagen. His project receives funding of DKK 3,000,000.
About the projects:
Sadegh Nabavi works with optogenetics, using light to study specific brain cells in laboratory animals. These could, for example, be neurons in the brain which are genetically engineered to make the animals – typically mice – sensitive to light. When the researchers illuminate these cells using special equipment, they are able to manipulate neuronal activity, enabling them to study activity in the neural networks of the brain.
Working with American and Australian colleagues, Sadegh Nabavi aims to develop a technique for selective manipulation of various nerve pathways that cooperate on a specific process. Something that can’t be done today. In time, this will give us a much better understanding of how different networks of neurons influence specific behaviours such as anxiety.
Sadegh Nabavi’s project is a continuation of an earlier project for which he received an NIH BRAIN Initiative grant from the Lundbeck Foundation in 2018.
In collaboration with American colleagues, Oula Puonti will seek to map the lateral prefrontal cortex, which is part of the brain’s outer layer – the cortex.
The cortex is made up of six layers. In order to be able to understand functions performed in the lateral prefrontal cortex, which is involved in a range of executive tasks such as planning and short-term memory, it is essential to understand the neural connections within – and between – these layers in detail.
By studying the brain tissue of deceased individuals, Oula Puonti seeks to construct a detailed model of the lateral prefrontal cortex. The model will be used to improve the precision of the interpretation of MRI scans in patients, and thus to increase the chances of detecting early signs of disease.
In collaboration with American colleagues, Hajime Hirase will study a novel biological site of attack in the brain – a potential target for schizophrenia drugs. The idea is to take a new approach by manipulating so-called astrocytes; the star-shaped supporting cells that play an important role in converting energy within the central nervous system.
The theory is that using astrocytes as a site of attack will help design drugs that will work better and produce fewer side effects than the medication prescribed by medical professionals to treat schizophrenia today.
