By: Poul Henning Jensen, DANDRITE Interim Director and Professor at the Department of Biomedicine
The year 2025 has been one of consolidation, growth, and scientific achievement for DANDRITE. With a fully established Group Leader team, record-breaking funding success, and new initiatives that strengthen both our research and our community, DANDRITE continues to advance its role as a spearhead for neuroscience in Denmark.
A defining milestone this year was the appointment and arrival of Fiona Müllner as our fifth Group Leader in August, completing the recruitment planned for this funding period. Fiona’s expertise in circuit neuroscience and sensory processing strengthens our scientific profile and marks the beginning of a new phase for DANDRITE, with a full Group Leader team in place. 2025 also became the strongest funding year in DANDRITE’s 13-year history amongst our GLs who secured an exceptional number of external grants, including two ERC Starting Grants awarded to Fiona Müllner and Chao Sun. These achievements highlight the ambition, originality, and international competitiveness of our research environment.
In August, we hosted the first DANDRITE Symposium – a new biennial international neuroscience meeting designed to increase the visibility of our Group Leaders, DANDRITE and strengthen scientific exchange. The inaugural symposium, Adaptive Brain: Gene Expression and Regulation for Plasticity featuring top keynote speakers Michael Greenberg, Elly Nedivi, Anne Schaeffer and Alex Schier exceeded expectations, bringing together 114 participants from 12 countries, including researchers from leading institutions such as Harvard, MIT, Yale, MPI, EPFL, the Biozentrum, and Mount Sinai. This new format establishes DANDRITE as a hub for neuroscience dialogue and collaboration, and we look forward to continuing the tradition in 2027. The year also included several high-level-visits, including our long-standing collaborative partner, Brain Research Institute (BRI) from Niigata University, further contributing to our international visibility.
Our local network has continued to grow. This year, we welcomed Kyung Min Noh as our thirteenth Affiliated Researcher. The affiliated researcher scheme broadens our scientific reach and deepens our integration within the wider Aarhus neuroscience community.
Our early career organisation, YoDA, has been particularly active in 2025, launching new initiatives in collaboration with the Young Neuroscientists Network (YNN) at the Faculty of Health. Their efforts contribute to a vibrant environment for young scientists, an essential factor in attracting and retaining the next generation of neuroscience talent.
Community building has remained a priority. The launch of the Art on the Brain exhibition is one example of how DANDRITE seeks to engage with a broader audience, using art to communicate neuroscience and highlight the creativity of our researchers. Together with initiatives such as Step into Spring and the ongoing work of our Support Team, these efforts help ensure that DANDRITE remains an open, inclusive, and welcoming environment.
In June, we were pleased to welcome professor Nanna Brix Finnerup as the new Chair of the DANDRITE Executive Board. Her clinical expertise brings valuable perspectives that will help guide DANDRITE’s development in the years ahead.
I would like to thank all our partners, collaborators, and supporters for contributing to a successful 2025 and for helping us advance neuroscience at Aarhus University and beyond.
I hereby invite you to explore our web-based annual report, where you can dive deeper into the many highlights, achievements, and stories that shaped DANDRITE’s year - a report we are truly proud to share.
