Nedergaard named 21st Perl-UNC neuroscience prize recipient - EurekAlert

image: Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc view more 

Credit: University of Rochester

CHAPEL HILL, NC – The UNC School of Medicine has awarded the esteemed 21st Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize to Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, from the University of Rochester, for the “discovery of the glymphatic system.”

Dr. Nedergaard volition sojourn Chapel Hill March 9, 2023 to person the prize – a $20,000 grant – and springiness a lecture connected her enactment astatine 4 p.m. successful country G202 of the Medical Biomolecular Research Building (MBRB).

Her seminal probe centered connected the find of the glymphatic system, a encephalon web that clears metabolites and discarded products done cerebrospinal fluid portion we sleep. She dubbed it the glymphatic strategy owed to its reliance connected glial cells – non-neuronal cells in the central tense system that bash not nutrient electrical impulses but enactment and support neurons.

Since her 2013 discovery, which earned her the “Breakthrough of the Year” grant from Science Magazine, determination has been expanding enactment and involvement successful the glymphatic strategy and its relevance successful age-related neurodegenerative conditions, specified arsenic Alzheimer’s disease; successful neurodevelopmental conditions, specified arsenic autism spectrum disorder; and successful healing aft traumatic injury. Research has continued to amusement this strategy is robust and biologically conserved successful aggregate species, and it is linked to the lymphatic strategy – a abstracted web of vessels done which lymph drains from tissues into the circulatory system.

Nedergaard’s aboriginal probe and that of colleagues revealed that the aquaporin-4 water transmission macromolecule plays an important relation successful controlling the travel of cerebral spinal fluid betwixt the spaces astir humor vessels and astir tense strategy cells.

“The age-old question of wherefore bash we slumber has agelong been a mystery,” said Mark Zylka, PhD, seat of the Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize committee and manager of the UNC Neuroscience Center. “Dr. Nedergaard’s probe showed that the encephalon has these tiny channels that unfastened astatine nighttime and assistance to wide retired discarded products portion we are heavy asleep. This nightly cleaning process is undoubtedly important successful helping america to consciousness mentally refreshed erstwhile we aftermath up each morning.” 

Dr. Nedergaard earned her aesculapian grade successful 1983 and her doctorate of aesculapian subject successful 1988, some from the University of Copenhagen. She conducted her postdoctoral grooming astatine Cornell University and the University of Copenhagen.

“I privation to convey the UNC School of Medicine for this recognition, and I americium honored to articulation the different distinguished scientists who person been awarded the Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize,” said Nedergaard, who is besides co-director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine astatine the University of Rochester and the University of Copenhagen. “Discoveries similar that of the glymphatic strategy are lone achieved done teamwork, and it is important besides admit Jeff Iliff, Helene Benveniste, Steve Goldman, and galore others who made important contributions to this work.”

The Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize, established successful 2000, is named aft erstwhile UNC prof Edward Perl, MD, who discovered that a circumstantial benignant of sensory neuron responded to achy stimuli. Before this, scientists thought that sensory neurons responded to each stimuli and that symptom responses were sorted retired successful the spinal cord. The find had a large interaction connected the tract of symptom research, peculiarly successful the improvement of symptom medications.

Dr. Perl passed distant successful 2014. Read much astir his probe in this remembrance.

Along with seat Mark Zylka, PhD, the W.R. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology astatine the UNC School of Medicine, the Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize selection committee consists of: David Anderson, PhD, the Seymour Benzer Professor of Biology astatine Caltech; Ben Philpot, PhD, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology and Associate Director of the UNC Neuroscience Center; Catherine Dulac, PhD, the Higgins Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology astatine Harvard School of Medicine, Gwenn Garden, MD, PhD, the H. Houston Merritt Distinguished Professor and Chair of Neurology astatine the UNC School of Medicine, Liqun Luo, PhD, the Ann & Bill Swindells Professor of Biology astatine Stanford University, and Beth Stevens, PhD, subordinate prof of neurology astatine Harvard Medical School.

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