Since the establishment in 2013, DANDRITE's objective has been to appoint five top international researchers as Group leaders who can complement each other in research into the molecular mechanisms that control the signalling and communication pathways in the brain and nervous system. These are of considerable importance for behaviour, senses and consciousness, as well as for neurological and psychiatric conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, depression and schizophrenia. DANDRITE is part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), and all appointments are therefore in accordance with the EMBL tradition for fixed-term positions.

Five outstanding researchers

Dr Nabavi carries out research into how memories are formed, and he studies how the connections between the nerve cells are stabilised, and which networks of nerve cells are involved. His results are based on experiments using rodents as model organisms. Dr Nabavi takes up his five-year appointment in the summer 2015. He completed his PhD at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Guelph, Canada, and has subsequently held a postdoctoral position at the Center for Neural Circuits and Behavior, Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego (UCSD), USA. Read more about Sadegh Nabavi's research here.

Each of the group leaders who have already been appointed has a particular area of research expertise. Dr Mark Denham uses stem cells to study how the nervous system develops and can be regenerated, with a focus on applications in connection with treating Parkinson’s disease. Dr Anne von Philipsborn’s research focuses on how the nervous system controls behaviour. Dr Keisuke Yonehara’s field of research covers the structure, function and development of the neural circuit in the visual system, with a focus on the nerve connections that control the recognition of form and movement. Dr Duda Kvitsiani carries out research into the underlying genetic and neural circuit mechanisms that form the basis for decision-making in humans and animals.

The five group leaders recruited by DANDRITE make up a strong combined team. Along with the three core groups at DANDRITE, they will establish a flourishing research environment at the forefront of their field, with a wide range of neuroscientific research ideas and methods. The core groups at DANDRITE include Poul Nissen (research field: structural biology of membrane transport proteins, receptors and biomembranes), Anders Nykjær (research field: cell biology and modelling [using animals] of neuronal membrane receptor systems) and Poul Henning Jensen (research field: molecular cell biology in neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on Parkinson’s disease and dementia).

About DANDRITE

The Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience (DANDRITE) is the Danish node of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, and DANDRITE therefore complies with the EMBL model for recruiting international researchers. DANDRITE is a research centre at Aarhus University, and was established in 2013 with support from the Lundbeck Foundation and Aarhus University.

DANDRITE is located in the lively NeuroCampus research environment at Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, which encompasses expertise in genetics, molecular and clinical medicine, bioimaging, cell and animal models, structural biology and nanoscience, and with strong traditions in membrane proteins and neuroscience.

For more information, please contact:
 

DANDRITE Group Leader Sadegh Nabavi
snabavi@dandrite.au.dk, www.dandrite.au.dk/nabavi

DANDRITE Group Leader Anne von Philipsborn
avp@dandrite.au.dk, www.dandrite.au.dk/philipsborn

DANDRITE Group Leader Mark Denham
mden@dandrite.au.dk, www.dandrite.au.dk/denham

DANDRITE Group Leader Duda Kvitsiani
kvitsi@dandrite.au.dk, www.dandrite.au.dk/kvitsiani

DANDRITE Group Leader Keisuke Yonehara
kyon@dandrite.au.dk, www.dandrite.au.dk/yonehara

DANDRITE Director and Core Group Leader Professor Poul Nissen
pn@mbg.au.dk, www.dandrite.au.dk/nissen

DANDRITE Core Group Leader Poul Henning Jensen
phj@biomed.au.dk, www.dandrite.au.dk/jensen

DANDRITE Core Group Leader Anders Nykjær
an@biomed.au.dk, www.dandrite.au.dk/nykjær

DANDRITE Administrative Officer Else Magård
ema@dandrite.au.dk