Programme
- 11.00–11.10 Welcome and presentation of Marcus Buggert by Ludvig Sollid
- 11.10–11.55 Lecture by Marcus Buggert, Assistant Professor, Karolinska Institute, Sweden: "Cell-mediated immunity in health and viral disease"
- 12.00–12.40 Lunch
- 12.45–12.50 Presentation of Maiken Nedergaard by Ludvig Sollid
- 12.50–13.50 Lecture by Maiken Nedergaard Professor, University of Copenhagen, Denmark: "The Glymphatic system"
- 13.50–13.55 Conclusion and closing remarks by Ludvig Sollid
Registration
The lectures are free and open to everyone, but require registration by 2 November.
The award ceremony will be held in the University Aula later in the day, and is also open to everyone (information in Norwegian only).
Abstracts
The Glymphatic System
Maiken Nedergaard, Professor, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Dr. Nedergaard has recently described a macroscopic pathway in the central nervous system – the glymphatic system - that facilitates the clearance of potential neurotoxic waste products from brain. Glymphatic clearance of macromolecules is driven by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that flows in along para-arterial spaces and through the brain parenchyma via support from astroglial aquaporin-4 water channels. The glymphatic circulation constitutes a complete anatomical pathway; para-arterial CSF exchanges with the interstitial fluid, solutes collect along para-venous spaces, then drain into the vessels of the lymphatic system for ultimate excretion from the kidney or degradation in the liver. As such, the glymphatic system represents a novel and unexplored target for prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Cell-mediated immunity in health and viral disease
Marcus Buggert, Assistant Professor, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
T cells make up the cell-mediated response of adaptive immunity. Our research is dedicated to understanding the role of memory T cells in detecting viral infections, particularly the CD8+ T cell subset. These cells are vital in combating most viral infections and are believed to be a significant reason why many individuals do not experience severe symptoms from COVID-19 following breakthrough infections. Historically, CD8+ T cells have mainly been viewed as killer cells that target virus-infected cells, a perspective largely based on studies of peripheral blood. However, recent research, including our own, shows that most memory CD8+ T cells in human tissues are “tissue-resident” and do not readily circulate back to the peripheral blood. These resident cells function differently than their circulating counterparts. This implies that earlier blood-centric studies may not have fully captured the true functional range of memory CD8+ T cells in tissue contexts where they control viral infections.