Grant recipient

Agnete Kirkeby

Mapping Human Neural Lineages in a Novel In Vitro Model of the Developing Neural Tube Built with Morphogenic Gradients

Agnete Kirkeby says: “Our research aims to produce pure cultures of subtype-specific nerve cells to be used as regenerative cell therapies towards neurodegenerative and neurological disorders. For this project, we have developed an advanced 3D stem cell model of the early embryonic human brain. This allows us to study the detailed cellular processes that control human brain complexity during fetal development. Using the latest techniques, we will examine each individual nerve cell in our stem cell model down to the smallest detail. We will thereby produce a map of how the hundreds of different specialized nerve cells in our brains are formed at the fetal stage. We will also develop new tools to identify and purify specific subtypes of nerve cells at different stages for transplantation therapies.”

Agnete Kirkeby
Associate Professor and Group Leader, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Biology, DanStem
University of Copenhagen

