Two researchers at Health receive Sapere Aude grants

Independent Research Fund Denmark has received 349 Sapere Aude applications and awarded 39 grants. Assistant professors Ina Maria Schiessl and Dmitry Postnov, both from the Department of Clinical Medicine, made it through the eye of the needle and can now call themselves Sapere Aude research leaders:

Who: Assistant Professor Ina Maria Schiessl, Department of Biomedicine
Funding: DKK 6,191,856
Project: From single nephron injury to chronic kidney disease progression – Unravelling of the mechanisms and new targets for treatment

Ina Maria Schiessl researches chronic kidney disease: a condition in which nephrons – the individual functional units of the kidneys – are gradually damaged over time, worsening the disease. Ina Maria Schiessl hypothesizes that fibrosis around damaged nephrons can cause increasing damage to healthy kidney tissue, thereby contributing to the progression of the disease. To test the hypothesis, she has developed a novel injury model to induce limited local damage to the kidneys. Using serial microscopy of living kidneys over a period of several weeks, Ina Maria Schiessl will document the structural and functional changes over time and assess whether and how the damage can spread to healthy tissue regions. The goal is to identify new treatment strategies that can slow the development of the disease in kidney patients.

Who: Assistant Professor Dmitry Postnov, Department of Clinical Medicine
Funding: DKK 6,191,712
Project: DIABENTIA: Unravelling Microvascular Link Between Diabetes and Dementia – a Pivotal Role of Microvascular Stiffness

Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of dementia later in life, but we still do not know why this is the case or how to prevent these devastating symptoms. Both diabetes and dementia lead to changes in the small blood vessels and to disruptions to blood flow in the brain. In his research project, Dmitry Postnov examines the connection between dementia and diabetes-related changes in small blood vessels. His hypothesis is that early-stage diabetes can cause increased stiffness in the small blood vessels responsible for regulating blood flow in the brain, eventually leading to cognitive decline. The study will include both animal models and diabetic patients.

Sapere Aude grants are aimed at early career researchers who have conducted top-class research within their field, and the money enables them to develop their research ideas and strengthen their skills as research leaders.

This coverage is based on press material from the Independent Research Fund Denmark.