Kamilla Miskowiak
ASCEND – Advancing Solutions for Cognitive Enhancement across Neuropsychiatric and Somatic Diseases
Has received a Professorship grant of DKK 19,999,996 from the Lundbeck Foundation.
Cognitive difficulties such as problems with concentration and memory are challenges associated with many psychiatric and somatic diseases. However, the biological causes of cognitive impairments remain insufficiently understood.
In the ASCEND project, the researchers aim to identify the fundamental causes of cognitive difficulties so that, in the future, it may become possible to better understand, prevent, and treat cognitive challenges across both psychiatric and somatic disorders.
This was proven in a study by Danish researchers. The results will be used in efforts to develop new forms of cognitive training to help people affected by mood disorders. Kamilla Miskowiak, professor at the University of Copenhagen and head of the research project, believes that the findings could also have implications for design of a...
As part of the project, researchers will examine cognitive health in the Danish population through an online cognitive screening and then link the results with data from health registers and biobanks to identify risk and resilience factors. A smaller group of participants will undergo brain scans, cognitive tests, and biological analyses to understand the neurobiological causes of different types of cognitive difficulties. Based on this knowledge, the researchers will test targeted cognitive training delivered via the internet and virtual reality in randomized trials — focusing on individuals with mental or physical illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, asthma, and diabetes.
“We believe there are shared biological deviations among people with cognitive difficulties — both in those with psychiatric and somatic diseases. In the future, we hope to be able to tailor treatment for each individual based on a brief cognitive screening and a blood sample,” says Kamilla Miskowiak, clinical professor of cognitive neuropsychiatry at the Mental Health Centre Copenhagen and the Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Copenhagen.
Read more about the granting of this year’s professorships below:
The Lundbeck Foundation is now awarding the LF Professorships 2025 to five research projects, all of which have the potential to push...
