Anders A. Jensen
Exploring the potential of a newly discovered activity component in psychedelics
Anders A. Jensen receives DKK 39 million in funding from the Lundbeck Foundation's Collaborative Projects programme.
This project – headed by Professor Anders A. Jensen from the University of Copenhagen – originates from a recent paradigm-shifting discovery made by Professor Eero Castrén and his colleagues from the University of Helsinki; that antidepressant drugs, in addition to their activity on the serotonergic neurotransmitter system, also modulates the signalling through another receptor – the so-called "brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)" receptor TrkB.
In the project, seven researchers from the University of Helsinki, Rigshospitalet and the University of Copenhagen will develop new classes of positive allosteric modulators of TrkB based on psychedelics, study the molecular and cellular basis for the modulators' activity and their effects in in vitro and in vivo studies, and probe the therapeutic potential in allosteric modulation of the TrkB receptor in various psychiatric disorders.
The project group comprises high-profile researchers (PIs) with strong track records within both BDNF/TrkB and the psychedelics fields. The group is highly multidisciplinary, enabling the researchers to pursue the ambitious goals and address the complex research questions in the project.
‘We are very grateful for and excited about receiving the Collaborative Projects grant from the Lundbeck Foundation and through this to be provided with the opportunity to explore the potential in this newly discovered activity component in psychedelics,’ says Anders A. Jensen.
The other Collaborative Projects grant recipients - 2022: