New iconic epicenter for brain health receives financial backing
Denmark is now getting a groundbreaking center for brain health and research in Aarhus, supported by foundations, private donors, and the Central Denmark Region. It will be the first research center in the world to integrate psychiatric and somatic research – for the benefit of future patients.
Vision draft of the BRAIN UNIVERSE
With the obtained commitments and letters of intent in place, the parties – Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus University, and the Central Denmark Region – can now realize a new building for the Danish Neuroscience Center (DNC), a pioneer in brain research across psychiatry and somatic medicine. The center will be located on the hospital grounds, where it will unite research, treatment, and prevention of brain diseases – close to the patients – and will also include a new BRAIN UNIVERSE, where citizens, school classes, and patients are invited inside.
Over half a billion kroner from donors
The project will be realized thanks to letters of intent pledging a total of more than 500 million DKK in support from Købmand Herman Sallings Fond, 鶹, KIRKBI A/S, the Aarhus University Research Foundation, and the Central Denmark Region. The letters of intent include contributions ranging from 60 to 120 million DKK.
Regional Council Chair Anders Kühnau sees great potential in gathering research in psychiatry and somatic medicine in one center:
“Here we will have the best conditions in the country to advance the treatment of brain diseases across the historical divide between psychiatry and somatic medicine. I am confident that with a holistic approach to brain health, we can elevate research, prevention, and treatment to benefit future patients, brain health, and the economy,” says Regional Council Chair Anders Kühnau (S).
The Lundbeck Foundation’s Director of Research, Jan Egebjerg, also emphasizes how the new center will translate research into benefits for future patients:
“The DNC building will create a unique environment where the interaction between researchers in neuroscience, neurology, and psychiatry ensures that research results are quickly converted into knowledge. This can benefit people suffering from brain diseases – fully in line with The Lundbeck Foundation’s purpose.”
One in three Danes affected
The need for new knowledge is immense. One in three Danes will at some point suffer from a mental or somatic brain disease – including major public diseases and conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, ADHD, and depression.
“The DNC building will create a unique environment where the interaction between researchers in neuroscience, neurology, and psychiatry ensures that research results are quickly converted into knowledge. This can benefit people suffering from brain diseases – fully in line with The Lundbeck Foundation’s purpose.”
DNC was established in 2009, and Professor and Chief Physician Jens Christian Hedemann Sørensen has been one of its driving forces. Since then, the research has led to breakthroughs in the treatment of brain diseases. One example is streamlined stroke treatment with rapid diagnostics, developed in Aarhus and now used in hospitals worldwide. Researchers from DNC are now working to further develop early diagnostics, for example using biomarkers. Another example is the Lundbeck Foundation Parkinson’s Disease Research Center (PACE), which will research the causes of the disease. In the long term, this could form the basis for new treatments that can slow or stop the progression of Parkinson’s disease.
“The brain contains our personality, controls our senses, movement, thoughts, and emotions. That’s why we must research across disciplines – both physical and mental. This connection is a core principle in the center’s work, and that work will have much better conditions in a modern building where we can bring together researchers and clinicians across specialties,” says Jens Christian Hedemann Sørensen.
Bringing together 400 researchers – close to the patients
The center will unite up to 400 researchers from the university and hospital in modern laboratories and clinical facilities.
Anne-Mette Hvas, Dean of Health at Aarhus University, emphasizes that the new framework will strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration and promote the transition from research to treatment:
“Good research facilities and a strong research environment make it easier to attract leading international researchers and strengthen collaboration between the university, hospital, and business sector. This creates new opportunities for innovation, faster access to knowledge, and the best possible conditions for translating basic scientific discoveries into new treatments. Patients – and society – need that,” she says.
The building will also include facilities for citizen-oriented prevention and education.
BRAIN UNIVERSE – dialogue with the public
The center’s entrance area will be transformed into a BRAIN UNIVERSE – a space for communication and dialogue where citizens, patients, and school classes can meet researchers and gain insight into the brain through interactive exhibitions and events. The aim is to strengthen brain health in the population, break down stigma around mental illness, and let citizens’ perspectives inspire research.
Aarhus University Hospital Director Thomas Balle Kristensen thanks all the contributors who made the project possible:
“A heartfelt thanks to all the contributors who saw the potential in the project. A center for brain health is almost a manifestation of the health reform’s intentions that hospitals should take greater responsibility for the entire healthcare system – from prevention to treatment. It will make a difference – for patients, research, and our ability to prevent disease and improve quality of life for millions of citizens,” he says.
