Most remarkably, Thomas Kim has received two grants from this program, amounting to a total of more than 6 million DKK.

With this funding, he and his group will have the opportunity to gain deeper insights into the role of microglia in brain development and in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
The first project maps how microglia, early in fetal development, acquire different roles and positions in the brain, and whether this process is driven by genetic programming or local signals.
The second project focuses on how microglia, in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, accumulate fat, lose their ability to clear waste, and trigger inflammation—and whether this process can be slowed by reactivating the cells’ waste disposal system. Together, the projects aim to understand and influence microglia function in both the healthy and diseased brain.

Anna Klawonn receives 3.1 million DKK, which she will use to study a specific part of the brain called the lateral septum and its role in the development of psychiatric disorders, such as depression.

Anna and Thomas are two of a total of twelve researchers at Aarhus University to receive this funding.

• Read more about Thomas Kims group
• Read more about Anna Klawonns group
• Read more about the grant from the Independent Research Foundation Denmark