Maiken Nedergaard is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...

most well known for discovering the

glymphatic system The glymphatic system (or glymphatic clearance pathway, or paravascular system) was described and named in 2013 as a system for waste clearance in the central nervous system (CNS) of vertebrates. According to this model, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ...

. She is a jointly appointed professor in the Departments of

Neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...

and

Neurology Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...

at the

University of Rochester Medical Center The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), now known as UR Medicine, is located in Rochester, New York, is one of the main campuses of the University of Rochester and comprises the university's primary medical education, research and pat ...

. She holds a part-time appointment in the Department of

Neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peri ...

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 The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

, Center for Translational Neuromedicine.

Education

Nedergaard attended the

, 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 The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with NewY ...

(1987-1988).

Research

In 2010, Nedergaard discovered the role of the

adenosine Adenosine ( symbol A) is an organic compound that occurs widely in nature in the form of diverse derivatives. The molecule consists of an adenine attached to a ribose via a β-N9-glycosidic bond. Adenosine is one of the four nucleoside building ...

molecule in

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientifi ...

-induced

analgesia Pain management is an aspect of medicine and health care involving relief of pain (pain relief, analgesia, pain control) in various dimensions, from acute and simple to chronic and challenging. Most physicians and other health professionals ...

. In 2013, Nedergaard discovered the

, a network of channels in the brain whose purpose is to eliminate toxins using

cerebrospinal fluid Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear, colorless body fluid found within the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord of all vertebrates. CSF is produced by specialised ependymal cells in the choroid plexus of the ventricles of the bra ...

(CSF). She called it the "''glymphatic system''" due to its dependence on

glial cells Glia, also called glial cells (gliocytes) or neuroglia, are non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system that do not produce electrical impulses. They maintain homeostasis, form myel ...

. She was awarded the 2014

Newcomb Cleveland Prize The Newcomb Cleveland Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is annually awarded to author(s) of outstanding scientific paper published in the Research Articles or Reports sections of ''Science''. Established in 192 ...

for her discovery. Subsequent research by Nedergaard and colleagues has revealed that the

aquaporin-4 Aquaporin-4, also known as AQP-4, is a water channel protein encoded by the ''AQP4'' gene in humans. AQP-4 belongs to the aquaporin family of integral membrane proteins that conduct water through the cell membrane. A limited number of aquaporins a ...

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 An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or o ...

and to accelerate the accumulation of toxic metabolites such as

amyloid beta Amyloid beta (Aβ or Abeta) denotes peptides of 36–43 amino acids that are the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. The peptides derive from the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which is ...

, implicating the glymphatic system in

neurodegenerative diseases A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic ...

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. Presently, Nedergaard's lab focuses on

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...

-glia interactions, the glymphatic system,

astrocyte Astrocytes (from Ancient Greek , , "star" + , , "cavity", "cell"), also known collectively as astroglia, are characteristic star-shaped glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. They perform many functions, including biochemical control of endo ...

evolution, cerebral blood flow regulation, chronic pain, and the role of glia after

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cor ...

Awards and honors

Nedergaard's discovery of the glymphatic system was honored as one of ''

Science Magazine ''Science'', also widely referred to as ''Science Magazine'', is the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the world's top academic journals. It was first published in 1880, ...

s ten "Breakthroughs of the Year" in 2013. In 2014, she accepted a

Novo Nordisk Foundation The Novo Nordisk Foundation is an international enterprise foundation focusing on medical treatment and research. In 2021, the foundation had a net worth of $93.73 billion (697 billion DKK),Novo Nordisk Foundation - Annual report 2021: https: ...

Laureate Research Grant in 2014 to assist in establishing a Center for Basic and Translational Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen. 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 The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

(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) * Research to Prevent Blindness Stein Innovation Award (2018-2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nedergaard, Maiken Living people Danish neuroscientists Danish women neuroscientists 21st-century women scientists Year of birth missing (living people)