Large grant makes it possible to continue groundbreaking research in the brain
DKK 35 million grant enables Professor Ole Kiehn to continue his research into brain motor control and to shed light on fundamental mechanisms of motor disorders in neurodegenerative diseases.
In 2016, Professor Ole Kiehn received a DKK 40 million Laureate Research Grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation for a seven-year research project into motor control. Now the grant has been extended for another seven years and DKK 35 million.
This means that Ole Kiehn and the Kiehn Lab at the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen can continue their ground-breaking research, which i.e. has resulted in a study recently published in Nature Neuroscience.
“Because of the grant I am able to continue long-term research projects and retain talented staff, which will enable us to continue our efforts to understand how the nervous system controls motor function,” says Ole Kiehn, who received the 2022 Brain Prize – the largest prize for brain research in the world – for his research into movement control.
This knowledge is vital if we are to understand brain diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, where the late stages of the disease are characterised by a significant loss of motor function.
Ole Kiehn will spend the grant and the next seven years getting a better grasp of how movements are produced at the highest brain level.
“We used to concentrate on the brainstem and the neural network in the spinal cord which controls movement. Now, we will use this knowledge to move further into the brain and study some of the complex brain functions that interact with the brainstem and the neuronal network in the spinal cord to produce movement. Studying these motor networks gives us a unique opportunity to understand complex brain functions in new ways.”
The ultimate goal of Ole Kiehn’s research is to gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental brain functions that control movement.
“This knowledge is vital if we are to understand brain diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, where the late stages of the disease are characterised by a significant loss of motor function. We may also be able to use this knowledge to restore brain function after trauma such as spinal cord injury or stroke, which also affect motor function,” says Ole Kiehn and concludes:
“Long-term support like the Novo Nordisk Foundation Laureate Research Grant is quite exceptional, and it gives me a great deal of freedom to continue my work. It allows us to concentrate on complex issues over a long period of time.”
Contact
Professor Ole Kiehn
ole.kiehn@sund.ku.dk
+4593565963