At the end of September, the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine invited its long-standing partner, the Fondation Jean Think, to the Belval campus.
Already since 2015, the Luxembourg foundation has supported the scientists of the University’s Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) in their research in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. The clinical diagnosis is made on the basis of motor symptoms such as slow movements, stiffness and tremors. However, by the time these symptoms are clearly recognised, the disease has unfortunately progressed for several years and a large proportion of the dopaminergic neurons responsible for coordinating movements have already irrevocably disappeared.
“Public funding is often not made available for many important and exciting research projects. Often for the simple reason that there is not yet enough data from preliminary experiments. Foundations like the Fondation Jean Think set impulses with their support, they create freedom for more flexibility and diversity in scientific research,” explained Prof. Michael Heneka, Director of the LCSB, in his welcoming speech.
During their visit, Mr Schumacher, President of the Fondation Jean Think and the Foundation’s board were introduced to the research projects they have supported in recent years. Dr Silvia Bolognin, Dr Manuel Buttini, Dr Velma Aho and Prof Paul Wilmes presented the latest results of their research and explained what impact the donation had on their research project.
