Maiken Nedergaard
{{short description|Danish neuroscientist}}
Maiken Nedergaard is a Danish neuroscientist most well known for discovering the glymphatic system. She is a jointly appointed professor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She holds a part-time appointment in the Department of Neurosurgery within the University of Rochester Center for Translational Neuromedicine, where she is the principal investigator of the Division of Glial Disease and Therapeutics laboratory. She is also Professor of Glial Cell Biology at the University of Copenhagen, Center for Translational Neuromedicine.{{cite journal|author=Burton A|title=Making Maiken Nedergaard|journal=Lancet Neurol|year=2018|volume=17|issue=11|pages=935|pmid=30353865|doi=10.1016/S1474-4422(18)30365-X|doi-access=free}}
Education
Nedergaard attended the University of Copenhagen, where she received an M.D. in 1983 and a D.M.Sc in 1988. She completed post-doctoral training in neuropathology/physiology at the University of Copenhagen (1984–1987) and subsequently in neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medicine (1987–1988).{{cite web|title=Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc.|url=https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/23788299-maiken-nedergaard|website=University of Rochester Medical Center|accessdate=19 April 2019}}
Research
In 2010, Nedergaard discovered the role of the adenosine molecule in acupuncture-induced analgesia.{{cite web|last=Wilkinson|first=Emma|title=Acupuncture pain molecule pinpointed|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10185247|publisher=BBC|accessdate=18 February 2014|date=30 May 2010}}
In 2013, Nedergaard discovered the glymphatic system, a network of channels in the brain whose purpose is to eliminate toxins using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). She called it the "glymphatic system" due to its dependence on glial cells.{{cite news|last=Konnikova|first=Maria|title=Goodnight. Sleep Clean.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/opinion/sunday/goodnight-sleep-clean.html|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=18 February 2014|date=11 January 2014|quote=She called it the glymphatic system, a nod to its dependence on glial cells}} She was awarded the 2014 Newcomb Cleveland Prize for her discovery.{{cite web|title=Paper on Sleep's Restorative Effects Wins 2014 AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize|url=http://www.aaas.org/news/paper-sleeps-restorative-effects-wins-2014-aaas-newcomb-cleveland-prize|website=American Association for the Advancement of Science|accessdate=24 February 2015}}
Subsequent research by Nedergaard and colleagues has revealed that the aquaporin-4 water channel protein plays a crucial role in modulating the flow of CSF between the perivascular space and the brain interstitium. Dysfunction of the glymphatic system has been shown to impair healing after traumatic injury and to accelerate the accumulation of toxic metabolites such as amyloid beta, implicating the glymphatic system in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease. The glymphatic system has also been shown to interact with the recently discovered meningeal lymphatic system.{{cite journal|vauthors=Rasmussen MK, Mestre H, Nedergaard M |title=The glymphatic pathway in neurological disorders|journal=Lancet Neurol|year=2018|volume= 17|issue=11|pages=1016–1024|pmid=30353860|doi=10.1016/S1474-4422(18)30318-1|url= |pmc=6261373}}
{{asof|2019}}, Nedergaard's lab focuses on neuron-glia interactions, the glymphatic system, astrocyte evolution, cerebral blood flow regulation, chronic pain, and the role of glia after stroke or spinal cord injury.{{cite web|title=Nedergaard Lab|url=https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/labs/nedergaard.aspx|website=University of Rochester Medical Center|accessdate=19 April 2019}}
Awards and honors
Nedergaard's discovery of the glymphatic system was honored as one of Science Magazine's ten "Breakthroughs of the Year" in 2013.{{cite web|title=Science's Top 10 Breakthroughs of 2013|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/sciences-top-10-breakthroughs-2013|website=Science Magazine|accessdate=19 April 2019|quote=To sleep, perchance to clean}} In 2014, she accepted a Novo Nordisk Foundation Laureate Research Grant in 2014 to assist in establishing a Center for Basic and Translational Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen.{{cite web|title=Tre international forskere flytter til København|url=http://www.novonordiskfonden.dk/da/content/tre-internationale-topforskere-flytter-til-koebenhavn|website=Novo Nordisk Foundation|accessdate=24 February 2015|language=Danish}} She remains affiliated with both the University of Copenhagen and the University of Rochester.
Nedergaard has received numerous individual prizes for her contributions to the study of neuron-glia interactions in health and disease:
- Elected Member, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences (2008–Present)
- Elected Member, Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Spain (2011–Present)
- Elected Member, Academia Europaea (2012–Present)
- Newcomb Cleveland Prize, AAAS (2014)
- Alzheimer Prize, Danish Alzheimer Association (2015)
- Jeppe Juhl Prize (2016)
- Olav Thon Alzheimer Prize (2016)
- Tagea Brandt Prize (2016)
- Honorary Professorship, China Medical University, Shenyang, China (2018)
- Fernström Prize (2018){{cite web|title=Maiken Nedergaard receives the Nordic Fernström Prize|author=Otmani M|website=Nordic Life Science News|url=https://nordiclifescience.org/maiken-nedergaard-receives-the-nordic-fernstrom-prize/|accessdate=19 April 2019}}
- Research to Prevent Blindness Stein Innovation Award (2018–2019)
- HFSP Nakazone Award (2024){{Cite web |title=Maiken Nedergaard Wins 2024 HFSP Nakasone Award for Pioneering Science of Sleep and Neurodegenerative Disease {{!}} Human Frontier Science Program |url=https://www.hfsp.org/hfsp-news/maiken-nedergaard-wins-2024-hfsp-nakasone-award |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=www.hfsp.org}}
- Ernst Schering Prize (2024){{cite web | last=Junker | first=Eva | title=Ernst Schering Preis 2024 würdigt Maiken Nedergaard | website=Biermann Medizin | date=30 September 2024 | url=https://biermann-medizin.de/ernst-schering-preis-2024-wuerdigt-maiken-nedergaard/ | language=de | access-date=7 April 2025}}
References
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Category:Danish neuroscientists
Category:Danish women neuroscientists