Stockholm Brain Institute
Stockholm Brain Institute has gained access to a new resource - Astra Zeneca will invest SEK 80 million over a period of five years in a PET Centre that will lead the world.
Through a cooperation agreement with Karolinska Institutet, Astra Zeneca will invest SEK 80 million in the construction of one of the world’s leading PET Centres. This Centre will play a vital role for research within the Stockholm Brain Institute (SBI), an important profile initiative associated with Stockholm BioScience which is a part of Stockholm Science City/Vetenskapsstaden.
SBI was formed thanks to a research grant of SEK 43 million from SSF (the Swedish Foundation for Strategic research). The founding group consisted of researchers from Karolinska Institutet (KI), the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Stockholm University (SU) lead by Professor Hans Forssberg, Karolinska Institutet.
Cutting edge research will be carried out here within cognitive neuroscience which is a growth area with wide implications for both health care and teaching. It concerns understanding the connection between the brain on one side and cognitive functions and behaviour on the other. Learning, memory and attention span are examples of cognitive functions. Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease in adults, as well as neurological development problems in children, are caused by disturbances in these functions.
Research demands a multi-disciplinary approach involving psychology and psychiatry as well as genetics, molecular biology, neurophysiology and modern imaging techniques. In order to understand the complex conditions prevailing – from gene to behaviour pattern – mathematical modelling and computer simulations are necessary. Consequently Stockholm Brain Institute has been purpose-designed and includes cross disciplinary research groups from all three universities – KI, KTH and SU.
”Stockholm BioScience has participated in and supported this development from an early stage with their activities aimed at the promotion of multidisciplinary research cooperation,” says Ola Björkman who is responsible for Stockholm BioScience within Stockholm Science City/Vetenskapsstaden. Astra Zeneca’s financing of a new PET Centre means a considerable asset increase for Stockholm Brain Institute.
”Through Stockholm Brain Institute, unique preconditions will be created for researchers with complementary competence from the three universities and, together with Karolinska University Hospital and the biotechnology industry, they will be able to carry out cutting edge clinical research which will lead to new diagnoses and treatment methods,” says Hans Forssberg.
PET is a modern imaging technique used to examine inside organs in the human body. With the help of a PET camera it will be possible to look at proteins in the brain which are, in fact, responsible for biological signalling between different cells. Knowledge about these proteins is vital in order to understand how the brain works, and also to be able to develop and test new pharmaceutical products.
For further information or queries please contact:
Ola Björkman, Stockholm Science City, Director Stockholm BioScience,
Tel: +46 70245 74 97, E-mail: ola.bjorkman@stockholmsciencecity.com
Hans Forsberg, Director, Stockholm Brain Institute
Tel: + 46 70873 08 30, E-mail: hans.forssberg@ki.se