Henriette Aksnes

Henriette Aksnes obtained her PhD in Molecular biology at the Department of Biological Sciences/University of Bergen in 2014 and worked as a post-doc at the same department before taking up a researcher position at UiB’s Department of Biomedicine in 2018. She has always been very interested in the emerging research field of studying cellular consequences of protein modifications, such as acetylation.

In her previous research, Aksnes has, among other things, used microscopy to study the protein NAA60, which sits in cell membranes and changes the function of other proteins by marking these with an acetyl group. Recently, Aksnes’ team participated in revealing that if the NAA60 protein does not work properly, brain calcification and parkinsonism can occur.

When we hear the word calcification in connection with disease states, we often think of calcifications in joints or blood vessels, but it is actually also very common in the brain. The consequences of this calcification are unknown, nor are the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms explained. Calcifications in the brain increase with age, and can, for example, have an impact on neurodegenerative diseases. By looking at how brain calcifications occur and interact with other factors, Henriette Aksnes hopes that the MemBrain project will contribute to new insights into dementia diseases – and thus shed light on new treatment options.

In her Starting Grant project, Aksnes works closely with researchers in London providing access to specific biological samples and she has also established collaboration with colleagues in Oslo and Bergen, for example at the Neuro-SysMed research centre and the Mohn Research Centre for Regenerative Medicine (MRCRM). The project funding will help Aksnes hire more staff, including a PhD and a research assistant, as well as invest in new model systems for their studies.