Dr. Maiken Nedergaard is a world-renowned neuroscientist celebrated for her transformative contributions to our understanding of brain physiology and neuroglial interactions. She currently holds professorships at both the University of Copenhagen, where she serves as Professor of Glial Cell Biology at the Center for Translational Neuromedicine, and the University of Rochester Medical Center, where she is Dean's Professor and co-director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine. Dr. Nedergaard earned her MD in 1983 and DMSc in Neuroscience in 1988, both from the University of Copenhagen, following post-doctoral training at Cornell University Medical School and the University of Copenhagen. Her distinguished career bridges clinical neurology and fundamental neuroscience, with appointments spanning neurology, neurosurgery, and pharmacology departments across institutions.
Dr. Nedergaard's most groundbreaking contribution is the discovery of the glymphatic system, a revolutionary brain-wide fluid clearance mechanism that functions as the brain's equivalent of the lymphatic system. This seminal work, published in 2012-2013, demonstrated how cerebrospinal fluid rapidly diffuses through brain tissue during sleep, mixing with interstitial fluids to filter metabolic byproducts accumulated during neuronal activity. Her research revealed that this system dramatically increases its activity during sleep, providing the first direct explanation for sleep's restorative function at the physiological level. This paradigm-shifting discovery was honored as one of Science Magazine's ten 'Breakthroughs of the Year' in 2013 and has fundamentally altered our understanding of brain waste clearance, with profound implications for neurodegenerative diseases.
Her pioneering research has earned numerous prestigious accolades including the Newcomb Cleveland Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the HFSP Nakazone Award, and the Ernst Schering Prize. Dr. Nedergaard's work has catalyzed a new field of research connecting sleep physiology with neurodegenerative disease, particularly Alzheimer's disease, as impaired glymphatic function in aging and disease states has been linked to increased accumulation of toxic proteins. Currently leading innovative projects on glial mechanisms that preserve cognitive function during aging, her laboratory continues to explore the intricate relationship between sleep, brain clearance, and neurodegeneration. Dr. Nedergaard's visionary contributions have positioned her as a global leader whose work continues to reshape therapeutic approaches to neurological disorders worldwide.
