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Three young researchers from the Dept. of Clinical Medicine receive Lundbeck Foundation Fellowships

Out of the Lundbeck Foundation's five new fellowships, no less than three have been awarded to researchers at the Department of Clinical Medicine. Each fellowship is accompanied by DKK 10 million to help the young talents continue with their research over the next five years.

2018.10.25 | Simon Byrial Fischel

The Department of Clinical Med ck Foundation Fellowships.icine receives no less than three Lundbe

PhD and Associate Professor Nicolai Juul Birkbak conducts research into cancer evolution. Photo: The Lundbeck Foundation

PhD and Associate Professor Micah Allen conducts research into gut feelings. Photo: The Lundbeck Foundation

PhD and Associate Professor Christoffer Laustsen conducts research into blood clots in the brain. Photo: The Lundbeck Foundation

Last year, the Department of Biomedicine could pride itself on being the first to land three out of five Lundbeck Foundation fellowships at one department. This year, the Department of Clinical Medicine repeats the feat with three outstanding researchers: Nicolai Juul Birkbak, Micah Allen and Christoffer Laustsen.

They might represent the same department, but the research they carry out takes place in three completely different areas. However, one thing the three newly appointed fellows have in common is that they are among the most promising researchers of their generation, and that each has the potential to revolutionise our understanding of a field of research.

Nicolai Juul Birkbak, PhD, associate professor, Department of Clinical Medicine
What actually happens when a normal cell develops into a cancer cell? This is one of the questions that Nicolai Juul Birkbak hopes to be able to answer by utilising his fellowship for an even more in-depth study of cancer evolution.

He will attempt to further our understanding of how different factors affect the cancer genome, not least during treatment. The hope is that in the longer term, his research can be used to produce a cancer index that doctors can use to look up the exact type of cancer and get an overview of the most probable development of the disease.

Watch the video about Nicolai at The Lundbeck Foundation

Micah Allen, PhD, associate professor, Department of Clinical Medicine
Do we really act as rationally as we like to believe, or do we tend to base our decisions on gut feelings? This is what Micah Allen will attempt to uncover over the next five years by looking more closely into the different signal paths between our brain and internal organs and examining whether our decision-making processes are influenced by e.g. our heart rhythm.

He will also examine patients who have had their stomach removed to see whether a lower signalling from the body to the brain affects the decision-making process.

Watch the video about Micah at The Lundbeck Foundation

Christoffer Laustsen, PhD, associate professor, Department of Clinical Medicine
What can our brain cells’ metabolism tell us about the processes in the brain before, during and after a blood clot? This is what Christoffer Laustsen will study more closely during his fellowship, where he will utilise a new scanning technique to investigate these processes on a cellular level.

In order to minimise permanent damage after a blood clot in the brain, it is extremely important that treatment takes place as quickly as possible. The hope is therefore that a deeper understanding of brain cell metabolism can improve our prediction of blood clots and thus limit the damage in the brain.

Watch the video about Christoffer at The Lundbeck Foundation

Contact
PhD, Associate Professor Nicolai Juul Birkbak
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine
Department of Molecular Medicine
Email: nbirkbak@clin.au.dk
Tel.: (+45) 2539 4779

PhD, Associate Professor Micah Allen
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine
Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies
Email: micah.allen@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Tel.: (+45) 7179 0914

PhD, Associate Professor Christoffer Laustsen
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine
The MR Research Centre
Email: cl@clin.au.dk
Tel.: (+45) 2443 9141

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