Maiken Nedergaard facts for kids
Maiken Nedergaard is a Danish brain scientist. She is famous for finding the glymphatic system, which helps clean the brain. She works as a professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center in the United States. She also teaches at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
Her School Days
Maiken Nedergaard studied at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. She earned her medical degree in 1983. Then, she got a higher research degree in 1988. After that, she continued her training in brain science. She trained at the University of Copenhagen and then at Weill Cornell Medicine in the U.S.
Amazing Discoveries
In 2010, Dr. Nedergaard found out how a molecule called adenosine helps acupuncture reduce pain. Acupuncture is a traditional treatment that uses thin needles.
Her biggest discovery came in 2013. She found a special cleaning system in the brain. She named it the glymphatic system. This system uses cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to wash away harmful waste from the brain. Think of it like a plumbing system for your brain! She called it "glymphatic" because it depends on special brain cells called glial cells. For this amazing discovery, she won the 2014 Newcomb Cleveland Prize.
Later, Dr. Nedergaard and her team learned more about this system. They found that a protein called aquaporin-4 helps control the flow of CSF. When the glymphatic system doesn't work well, it can make it harder for the brain to heal after an injury. It can also cause harmful substances, like amyloid beta, to build up. This buildup is linked to brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Scientists also found that the glymphatic system works with another system, the meningeal lymphatic system.
Today, Dr. Nedergaard's lab studies how brain cells work together. They also research the glymphatic system and how it affects brain health. They look at how glia cells help after a stroke or spinal cord injury.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Nedergaard's discovery of the glymphatic system was a huge deal. Science Magazine called it one of the top ten "Breakthroughs of the Year" in 2013. In 2014, she received a special grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. This grant helped her set up a new research center at the University of Copenhagen. She still works at both the University of Copenhagen and the University of Rochester.
She has also received many other awards for her work on how brain cells interact:
- Elected Member, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences (since 2008)
- Elected Member, Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Spain (since 2011)
- Elected Member, Academia Europaea (since 2012)
- 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, China (2018)
- Fernström Prize (2018)
- Research to Prevent Blindness Stein Innovation Award (2018-2019)
- The 2024 HFSP Nakazone Award
