Katrine Skovgård defends her thesis 19 January 2023. Katrine Skovgård’s Ph.D. project sheds light on the dysfunctions in the brain through which dopaminergic pharmacotherapies for Parkinson’s disease affect motor behaviors. January 19, she defends her thesis. She explains how better experimental models might improve future translational research on dyskinesia. You presented your research at the Mu

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/why-dopamine-receptor-type-matters-phd-interview-katrine-skovgard - 2025-08-25

Dopamine-producing neurons that researchers from Lund University have grown in the laboratory from human embryonic stem cells. Photo: Agnete Kirkeby. At the end of October 2022, the Swedish Medical Products Agency gave the go-ahead for a clinical trial of the stem cell-based therapy STEM-PD for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The cells, generated from embryonic stem cells, have been in devel

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/nerve-cells-could-transform-treatment-parkinsons - 2025-08-25

Elna Dickson defends her thesis 17 February 2023. Huntington's disease is known as the "dance disease" due to the patient's characteristic motor symptoms. However, Elna Dickson's Ph.D. project shows that the disease also leads to pathological changes outside the brain. February 17, she defends her thesis about metabolic alterations in Huntington's disease. Now, she shares perspectives on her resea

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/huntingtons-metabolic-dysfunctions-phd-interview-elna-dickson - 2025-08-25

Tomas Roos defends his thesis 17 February 2023. The aggregation of the protein Amyloid-beta (Abeta) into plaques outside the nerve cells has been recognized in patients with Alzheimer’s disease since 1905. But eliminating the plaques has not helped patients so far. Still, Tomas Roos thinks that Abeta matters, but we may need to focus on the aggregates elsewhere. On February 17, he defends his thes

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/does-alzheimers-disease-start-inside-neurons-phd-interview-tomas-roos - 2025-08-25

The milestone transplant was performed at Skåne University Hospital in February. On 13th of February, a transplant of stem cell-derived nerve cells was administered to a person with Parkinson’s at Skåne University Hospital, Sweden. The product has been developed by Lund University and it is now being tested in patients for the first time. The transplantation product is generated from embryonic ste

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/first-patient-receives-milestone-stem-cell-based-transplant-parkinsons-disease - 2025-08-25

With the injectable gel the researchers were able to grow electrodes in living tissue. Here it is tested on a microfabricated circuit. Photo: Thor Balkhed/Linköpings universitet The boundaries between biology and technology are becoming blurred. Researchers at Linköping, Lund, and Gothenburg universities in Sweden have successfully grown electrodes in living tissue using the body’s molecules as tr

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/electrodes-grown-brain - 2025-08-25

Kajsa Brolin defends her thesis 27 March 2023. Photo: Kennet Ruona Kajsa Brolin explores how our genes and environment affect the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. March 27, she defends her Ph.D. project partly based on MultiPark’s biobank sample collection. Here, she tells about the newly discovered genetic risk factor that might be specific to people in the southern part of Sweden. And is

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/genes-and-environment-pd-phd-interview-kajsa-brolin - 2025-08-25

After a decade of protocol development and preparations, MultiPark researchers have finally launched the clinical trial. Recently, dopamine-producing cells generated from embryonic stem cells were transplanted into the first Parkinson's patient at Skåne University Hospital. During the autumn 2022, the Swedish MPA (Läkemedelsverket) approved the clinical STEM-PD study. Several of MultiParks PIs hav

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/stem-pd-bench-bedside-story-multipark-researchers-0 - 2025-08-25

Looking for the next step in your career? In need of some scientific inspiration? Or are you just curious about what MultiPark´s senior researchers are doing and their professional journey? Listen to MultiPark’s new podcast series “Meet our scientists”! In a newly launched podcast, young MultiPark researchers interview our research group leaders about their academic journey and main scientific foc

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/meet-our-scientists-new-podcast-young-multipark-researchers - 2025-08-25

Behind the ongoing clinical trials are years of basic research in the lab where the new generation of researchers continues where the previous one handed over. Photo: Kenneth Ruona. In the early 1950s, no one knew what caused Parkinson's disease. Then, Arvid Carlsson's discovery of dopamine opened the door to world-leading transplantations for Parkinson's patients. Thanks to the pioneering basic r

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/world-parkinsons-day-transplantations-parkinsons-disease-time-travel - 2025-08-25

Genetics are one of the keys to understanding neurodegenerative disease. That is why MultiPark researchers with expertise in genetics gather across research groups. Genetics of neurodegenerative diseases is a new special interest group (SIG) addressing scientific and technological needs to unravel the genetics behind diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Andreas Puschmann tells about how h

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/genetics-neurodegenerative-diseases-special-interest-group - 2025-08-25

Sara Linse and Oskar Hansson. Three researchers at Lund University, all with a long list of significant research credentials, have been awarded the ERC Advanced Grant worth EUR 2.5 million each to further develop and advance their research projects. Two of them are MultiPark research leaders. They do research on chaperone proteins’ function in neurodegenerative diseases and blood tests for rapid s

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/double-success-multipark-research-groups-prestigious-eu-grant-round - 2025-08-25

Several Nobel laureates, renowned scientists, and successful biotech entrepreneurs are coming to Lund in May to participate in the Lund Spring Symposium, an international pharmaceutical symposium sponsored by MultiPark. Sarah Tabrizi, a high profile Huntington researcher, and some of MultiPark's own researchers will speak. Medications are the physician's primary tool when treating their patients,

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/superstars-coming-lund-pharmaceutical-symposium-sponsored-multipark - 2025-08-25

A 7 Tesla MRI of a human brain. Picture: Tekla Kylkilahti, Lundgaard group. Recent studies indicate that acquired brain injuries, such as traumatic brain injury, trigger potentially harmful responses that may lead to neurodegenerative pathology. “Acquired brain injuries and their links to neurodegeneration diseases” is a new special interest group (SIG) collaborating across research groups to eluc

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/acquired-brain-injuries-special-interest-group - 2025-08-25

Thanks to the recent development of diagnostic tools based on blood biomarkers linked to Alzheimer’s, it is possible to predict whether an individual will develop the disease. Therefore, MultiPark researchers gather across groups to investigate hidden opportunities and develop implementable tools also for other brain conditions with similar approaches. “Development and implementation of fluid biom

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/fluid-biomarkers-special-interest-group - 2025-08-25

Microglial immune cells around the area of a human embryonic stem cell transplant to treat Parkinson’s Disease in a rat brain. In April, the young MultiPark working group organized a photo competition entitled "Brain in Picture". The external jury has had a hard time choosing, but now, they have appointed the best entry. Congratulations to Ellinor Molnár, bachelor student in the Behavioral Neurosc

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/brain-picture-winning-photo - 2025-08-25

Postdoctoral researcher Vivien Horvath investigates X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism (XDP), a rare neurodegenerative disorder. New research is underway at Lund University, led by Dr. Vivien Horvath, a postdoctoral researcher at Lund Stem Cell Center. Supported by a new grant from the Collaborative Center for X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism (XDP), Vivien aims to improve our understanding of XDP, a rar

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/exploring-role-jumping-genes-x-linked-dystonia-parkinsonism - 2025-08-25

Fredrik Nilsson defended his thesis on 10 May 2023. Fredrik Nilsson defended his Ph.D. thesis on May 10, 2023. For the last four years, he has explored the use of patient-specific cells in cell replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease to identify strategies to safeguard these transplanted cells from disease-related degeneration. Now, he tells us about his findings, their potential implications

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/cell-replacement-therapy-parkinsons-disease-phd-interview-fredrik-nilsson - 2025-08-25

An image of co-cultures with neuronal projections in purple and astrocytes in green. Image credit: Isaac Canals. One of Multipark's associated research groups has published a new study that reveals the role of astrocytes in the development of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Their findings, now in the journal Brain Communications, provide valuable insights into the cellular mechanisms of the disease

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/new-study-reveals-astrocytes-role-frontotemporal-dementia - 2025-08-25

Angela Cenci Nilsson was one of the panellists in a session discussing disease mechanisms, non-dopaminergic cells involved in PD, and the latest development regarding gene and cell therapy approaches. Summer is the right period for recharging our batteries through vacations and travels. It also seems to be an attractive time to organize scientific conferences… Here are some warm summer wishes from

https://www.multipark.lu.se/article/summer-greetings-multipark-world-parkinson-congress - 2025-08-25