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A blood clot in the brain, also called a stroke, is one of the most dangerous and fatal diseases in the world, and obesity increases the risk of being affected.  Christine Marie Haarslev Nielsen’s research focuses on how to minimise the resulting damage to the brain after an obese person suffers a stroke.

After a stroke, damage occurs because the brain does not receive the oxygen it needs. This leads to acute inflammation of the brain, meaning that the body’s immune system has been activated. Although this occurs to protect the brain from the damage and promote healing, it also causes further damage to the brain. There is much to indicate that certain factors increase protection and others cause more damage.

‘Professor Kate Lambertsen, my Danish mentor, and Professor Marion Buckwalter, my American mentor, have both dedicated research to identifying these factors. Some which could prove promising are TNF and LCN2, so-called neurotransmitters that play a part in the regulation of our immune system. During my project, I’ll conduct experiments with mice to investigate whether it would be beneficial to block these neurotransmitters after a stroke to reduce the damage caused,’ says Haarslev Nielsen.

Professor Buckwalter’s laboratory also has data indicating that these two neurotransmitters are mainly produced in a certain type of brain cell known as astrocytes. Haarslev Nielsen will therefore also block excretion of TNF and LCN2 specifically in these cells to see whether this could have a beneficial effect.

‘The findings from my project will give us new information about changes to TNF and LCN2 after a stroke. They’ll also tell us whether these play a part in increasing damage after a stroke in obese patients. This knowledge could potentially be used therapeutically to design brain-protecting treatment for stroke patients,’ says Haarslev Nielsen.

Buckwalter’s lab has extensive experience with the mouse model of ischaemic stroke, including high-fat diet and genetic tools for specific blocking of astrocytes.

‘During my stay at Stanford, I’ll learn the techniques they use in the Buckwalter lab to study inflammation in the brain after a stroke. This DARE scholarship is vital for my access to training in the Buckwalter lab. I’ll acquire basic research skills but will also gain communication experience, insight into clinical research and mentoring,’ says Christine Marie Haarslev Nielsen.

Christine Marie Haarslev Nielsen, 24, is studying medicine at the University of Southern Denmark. She only has a couple of years left before she can call herself a doctor. She is one of five Danish medical students who have travelled to the USA with the Lundbeck Foundation's DARE (Danish American Research Exchange) programme. Haarslev Nielsen will spend the year on her studies and on research at Stanford University in California – one of the world’s most prestigious universities.