Scientific advisory board

  • Prof. Urban Ungerstedt
  • Dr. David A. Lowe
  • Prof. Kjell Fuxe
  • Prof. Greg A. Gerhardt
  • Prof. Karl-Henrik Nordström

Prof. Urban Ungerstedt

Prof. Ungerstedt has pioneered the microdialysis technique, which he developed together with his group at Karolinska Institutet already at the beginning of the 1970s. Since then more than 16 000 papers were published describing the use of microdialysis in pharmacology, physiology, clinical monitoring and other related biomedical fields. These studies refer basically to the same principle, probe design and experimental set-up as originally described by Ungerstedt and Pycock (1974). Besides development of microdialysis, Dr. Ungerstedt made several major contributions to current understanding of functional neuroanatomy of the monoaminergic system, with particular focus on the dopaminergic system in the basal ganglia. His seminal discovery on 6-hydroxydopamine selective lesions of the nigro-striatal dopamine pathway and measuring turning behavior induced by dopamimetic drugs is still used as an important rodent model of Parkinson´s disease.

Ungerstedt U (1968) 6-Hydroxy-dopamine induced degeneration of central monoamine neurons. Eur J Pharmacol, 5:107-110.

Ungerstedt U, Pycock C (1974) Functional correlates of dopamine neurotransmission. Bull Schweiz Akad Med Wiss, 30:44-55.

Dr. David A. Lowe

Dr Lowe is the Founder, CEO & President of NeuroAssets, a leading trans-Atlantic neuroscience consultancy working with Pharma, Biotech and Foundations and private individuals on strategic, operational, scientific, clinical, regulatory, business development and financing aspects of their projects. Dr. Lowe has a successful record in neuroscience biotech companies: CSO and EVP PsychoGenics Inc, CSO and Board Director of Memory Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Hoffman-La Roche Inc), EVP and Founding CSO of Fidelity Biosciences, and President and CEO EnVivo Pharmaceuticals Inc (now Forum Pharmaceuticals, a Fidelity Company). Earlier in his career Dr.Lowe headed large CNS R&D groups in Pharma at Sandoz Ltd (now Novartis), Bayer and Roche. Dr. Lowe’s experience includes private and public companies as well as venture capital. He has more than 35 years’ experience in CNS drug discovery, translational medicine and product development, initiating and implementing collaborations between Pharma, Biotech, and Academia, with an established track record of generating diverse clinical candidates that moved into clinical trials and the market. He is also Adjunct Professor of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York.

R.F. Lane, L.G. Friedman, C. Keith, S.P. Braithwaite, J.A. Frearson, D.A. Lowe, F.M. Longo, L.M. Refolo, D.M. Watterson, K. Tsaioun, D.W. Shineman, H.M Fillit: Optimizing the use of CROs by academia and small companies. Nature Rev Drug Discov. 12(7),  487-488, (2013).

P. Svenningsson, C. Rosenblad, K. E. Arvidsson, K. Wictorin, C. Keywood, B. Shankar, D. A. Lowe, A. Björklund, H. Widner: Single oral treatment with the 5-HT1A/B agonist, Eltoprazine, counteracts L-dopa-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson's disease: A phase I/IIA, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-finding study. Brain, 138 (pt 4), 963-973, (2015).

D. Umbricht, R.S.E. Keefe, S. Murray, D. A. Lowe, R. Porter, K. Yoo, L. Santarelli: A randomized, placebo-controlled study investigating the nicotinic α7 agonist, RG3487, for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Neuropharmacology 39, 1568-1577, (2014). 

Prof. Kjell Fuxe

In 1964, K. Fuxe and A. Dahlström were the first to provide evidence for the existence of catecholamine and serotonin-containing neurons and described their specific localization in the central nervous system. They developed, at that time, a revolutionary new fluorescence histochemical technique based on fluorescence induced by formaldehyde-stained monoamine neurons. Up to date, Prof. Fuxe has published over 1000 scientific papers and edited numerous books on neuroanatomy, pharmacology and functional aspects of the monoaminergic systems and their interactions with neuropeptides and other neuromodulatory molecules in the central and peripheral nervous systems. In addition, Profs. Fuxe and Agnati and their collaborators have introduced and developed important new concepts of brain molecular signaling such as volume transmission and receptor-receptor interactions.

Dahlström A, Fuxe K (1964) Evidence for the existence of monoamine-containing neurons in the central nervous system, I. Demonstration of monoamines in the cell bodies of brain stem neurons. Acta Physiol Scand, 62:Suppl 232:1-55.

Hillarp NA, Fuxe K, Dahlström A (1966) Demonstration and mapping of central neurons containing dopamine, noradrenaline, and 5-hydroxytryptamine and their reactions to psychopharmaca. Pharmacol Rev, 18:727-741.

Prof. Greg A. Gerhardt

Dr. Greg A. Gerhardt is well known for his pioneering development of modern microelectrodes for measures of dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, nitric oxide, L-glutamate, choline, lactate and other neurochemicals in brain tissue. His more recent work has focused on micro-fabricated electrode arrays and novel carbon fiber electrodes. He is currently Professor at the Departments of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Neurology, and Psychiatry at the University of Kentucky, Chandler Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky. He is also a Director of the Center for Sensor Technology (CenSeT), and Test-facility manager of Pre-clinical Research Center, University of Kentucky.

For his scientific achievements, Dr. Gerhardt has received numerous awards including a Research Scientist Development Award (RSDA Level II; (2000-2005) from NIMH.

Gerhardt GA, Oke AF, Nagy G, Moghaddam B, Adams RN (1984) Nafion-coated electrodes with high selectivity for CNS electrochemistry. Brain Res, 290:390-395.

Burmeister JJ, Gerhardt GA (2003) Ceramic-based multisite microelectrode arrays for in vivo electrochemical recordings of glutamate and other neurochemicals.  Trends Anal Chem, 22:503-508.

Prof. Karl-Henrik Nordström

Prof. Nordström introduced intracerebral microdialysis as a routine monitoring technique in neuro intensive care in collaboration with Prof. Ungerstedt and CMA Microdialysis. Biochemical markers of cerebral energy metabolism (glucose, lactate, pyruvate) and indicators of cellular degradation (glutamate, glycerol) are analyzed and displayed bedside and the observed results directly influence clinical decision making. Since the physiological approach of treating increased intracranial pressure (“Lund concept”) includes a decrease in cerebral perfusion pressure, the bedside control of cerebral energy metabolism is of vital importance. When used as clinical routine monitoring technique, intracerebral microdialysis has permitted pharmacokinetic studies of normal and injured human brain. Dr. Nordström´s group has also demonstrated the feasibility of using microdialysis catheters with high cut-off (100 kDa) for studies of interstitial polypeptides and proteins in the human brain.

Grände PO, Asgeirsson B, Nordström CH (2002) Volume targeted therapy of increased intracranial pressure: the Lund concept unifies surgical and non-surgical treatments. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand, 46:929-941.

Nordström CH, Reinstrup P, Xu W, Gärdenfors A, Ungerstedt U (2003) Assessment of the lower limit for cerebral perfusion pressure in severe head injuries by bedside monitoring of regional energy metabolism. Anesthesiology, 98:809-814.

Nordström CH (2007) The "Lund concept": what it is and what it isn't. Intensive Care Med, 33:558.