Maiken Nedergaard

Professor Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, is a Danish neuroscientist best known for discovering the glymphatic system, the brain’s unique waste clearance pathway. She earned her medical and doctoral degrees at the University of Copenhagen before moving to the United States for research training. Her early work demonstrated that astrocytes—electrically silent cells—are active participants in neural processing. In 2012, her group first described the glymphatic system, transforming our understanding of fluid dynamics and waste clearance in the brain. Her research has since shown that glymphatic activity is closely tied to sleep and is impaired in ageing and neurological diseases. 

Prof Nedergaard holds professorships at the University of Copenhagen’s Center for Translational Neuromedicine and at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She has authored landmark papers in leading journals, including Science, Nature Neuroscience, and Cell. Her discoveries have led to multiple patents and collaborations with industry to develop new therapies for neurological disorders. Today, she continues to lead international, multidisciplinary teams focused on brain clearance, neurovascular biology, and translational neuroscience.