Four researchers from ILF receive 114 mill DKK to expand our knowledge of the human brain
Four ambitious research projects supported by the Lundbeck Foundation will give us completely new insights into the human brain, hopefully paving the way for new treatments of diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, substance use disorder and many other conditions.
Lundbeck Foundation has granted 114 mill DKK to four projects here at ILF, out of seven projects in their Collaborative Projects programme, a programme supporting international collaborations and bringing together world class researchers.
Dean of Research Hans Bräuner says:
“As Associate Dean of Research, I am very impressed with the fact that Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology has received four LF Collaborative Projects grants. It testifies to a very powerful research environment for neuroscience at the department and a strong tradition for collaboration – key conditions for grants of this kind. So, big congratulations to David Gloriam, Stephan Pless, Kristian Strømgaard and Anders A. Jensen, who will be leading the four collaboration projects!”
Interim Head of Department Rasmus Prætorius Clausen states:
“It is with a great pleasure that the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology can announce to have received four of the prestigious and highly competitive “Lundbeck Foundation Collaborative Project” grants. We are very grateful to the Lundbeck Foundation for awarding the grants to Professor Kristian Strømgaard, Professor David Gloriam, Professor Stephan Pless and Professor Anders A. Jensen to conduct these four ambitious projects over the next five years. The projects are very relevant and highlight the diversity and high quality of our research environment. The award of the four grants further demonstrates the strong neuroscience expertise at the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, and testify to the attractiveness of our research environment, as each of the four research projects is conducted in collaboration with world-leading experts from abroad.
We are convinced that these projects will generate important new knowledge on molecular mechanisms underlying brain function and will enable novel avenues for treating CNS diseases in the future. The grants will further support the training of the next generation of scientists and thus support our departmental mission in research and education.
Again, we thank the Lundbeck Foundation for the tremendous support of our mission.”
The projects, project leaders and collaboration partners are:
Professor David Gloriam, “Data-driven drug design tools to target therapeutic over adverse effects”, collaboration partners: Amy H. Newman, Scientific Director, NIH, Professor Bryan L. Roth, University of Carolina and Professor Ulrik Gether, HoD, UCPH.
Professor Kristian Strømgaard, “Regulation of biomolecular condensates at the PSD: balancing diseased states of neuronal signaling”, collaborating with Professor Mingjie Zhang, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech).
Professor Stephan Pless, “The role of an evolutionarily conserved sodium leak current in brain development and disease”, in a collaboration with Professor Mei Zhen, University of Toronto.
Professor Anders A. Jensen, “From psychedelics to novel therapeutics: Positive allosteric modulators of the BDNF receptor TrkB” in collaboration with: Professor Eero Castrén, Professor Ilpo Vattulainen and Research Director Sari Lauri from University of Helsinki
Professor Gitte Moos Knudsen from Neurobiology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet Professor Jesper L. Kristensen and Research Consultant Kasper Harpsøe, University of Copenhagen