If a person damages the brain or spine, nerve cells do not regenerate spontaneously. The mechanism has been there since the embryonic stage, but is not activated. Enric Llorens Bobadilla and his research group at Karolinska Institutet are trying to find which genes should be turned on to create new nerve cells. A new film about their work is now available.
When the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) selected the research leaders of the future three years ago as part of the prestigious programme 'Future Research Leaders' (FFL), KI researcher Enric Llorens Bobadilla researcher at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology was one of the 16 selected for his project Engineering regeneration in the central nervous system . The award offers researchers the opportunity to further develop their research with a grant of SEK 15 million over a five-year period.
The SSF programme Future Research Leaders aims to support newly established researchers with high scientific and pedagogical competence, and to give them the tools to grow in their role as research leaders. A central objective is that the research results should also be of benefit outside academia - in society and industry. In addition to financial support, the programme includes comprehensive leadership training, which spans 18 months and includes 20 full days and a week-long study trip to Switzerland. The aim is to equip participants to lead larger research constellations in the future.
"The strategic funding from the SSF Future Leaders grant has enabled my lab to pursue an ambitious research program in precision CNS repair therapeutics. Equally valuable is the leadership training, which has shaped how I run my lab and connected me with a fantastic cohort of early-career PIs from other disciplines." says Enric.
About halfway through the programme, SSF has now made a film about research that could change the treatment of spinal cord injuries and ALS.
"Working with a professional film crew pushed us to articulate our research in new ways, the whole lab found it a rewarding experience."
