Danish Brain scientist receives the Anders Jahre Award for discovering the brain’s cleaning system
Professor Maiken Nedergaard receives the prestigious medical Anders Jahre Award 2023 for her ground-breaking brain research which has led to the discovery and description the brain’s cleaning system, the glymphatic system. With the award comes a grant of NOK 1 million. | While we sleep, the brain is busy cleaning up the waste matter that accumulates during activity. This process is a so-called waste clearance system, and it is known as the glymphatic system. The system makes sure the brain cleans itself by removing waste matter in the form of proteins. If the proteins are allowed to accumulate and stay in the brain, they can lead to reduced brain cell function and increased risk of dementia. ● Professor Maiken Nedergaard from the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Copenhagen, who first discovered and described the system in 2012, has spent the past years exploring the system in depth. Her research has changed our understanding of how the brain works and what goes wrong when we get sick, but also how we may be able to provide better treatment in the future. ● Now she receives the prestigious Anders Jahre Award for Medical Research honouring outstanding international research. It is awarded once a year at a ceremony at the University of Oslo.