Research

My research is focused on psychiatric disorders, in particularly schizophrenia and depression. My studies are translational including distinct animal models and human samples – integrating behavioral, molecular, cellular, biochemical, and pharmacological approaches. My main goals are to identify central and peripheral biomarkers of mental disorders, with the overall aim to identify novel treatment targets and molecular tools, that may underpin a more stratified treatment in the future. Furthermore, I am exploring the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of rapid-acting antidepressants (i.e. ketamine and GABA-NAMs) and psychedelic compounds.

Profile

I am a translational pharmacist with a profound interest in the brain, neuropharmacology, and psychiatry. I hold a Master’s degree in Pharmacy from the Royal Danish School of Pharmacy, Copenhagen, Denmark and a PhD from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Today, I am heading the Experimental and Molecular Psychiatry group at Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, and I have a special focus on non-coding RNAs and sex differences in brain and peripheral samples from patients with mental disorders.

Commissioned

In the Neuroscience Academy Denmark (NAD) initiative supported by the Lundbeck Foundation, I am speaker of the “Mood and Reward” column together with Professor Anders Fink-Jensen.

Teaching

At Aarhus University I am teaching Neurobiology as a part of the Master´s degree programme of Molecular Medicine and Biological Psychiatry as a part of the Master´s degree programme of Medicine. In addition, I also teach in the PhD Graduate Neuroscience Course. 

I am a member of the censor corps for the pharmaceutical and the medical education in Denmark .

Job responsibilities

I conduct translational research in psychiatric disorders, and I teach bachelor, master, and medical students, as well as PhD students and Postdocs within the field of neuroscience. Alongside, I head the Experimental and Molecular Psychiatry group at the Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit at Aarhus University.