Research groups

This research group is focused on transport and cycling of neurotransmitters and amino acids.

The purpose of the research is a better understanding of the close interplay nutrition and atherosclerosis.

Dysfunctional autophagy is linked to several pathophysiological conditions, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.⁠ The main focus of the “Simonsen Lab” is to characterize of the molecular mechanisms involved in cargo sequestration and autophagosome biogenesis during non-selective and selective types of autophagy with a long-term goal to identify novel targets for diagnosis or treatment of human disease.

Being the curator of The Schreiner Collection (the anthropological collection at the Department of Anatomy), the scientific research concentrates on skeletal analyses and identification, which include a close interdisciplinary collaboration with archaeologists, anthropologists, forensic specialists and the police.

Our group is interested in signaling and information processing in the brain at multiple levels, from synapses, neurons and circuits, to control of behavior and mental processes, in particular consciousness and memory.

By studying the subcellular localisation and the functions of the splice variants of PKA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase), we will better understand the specificity in the cAMP-PKA pathway and their potential association with disease.

Our main aim is to develop methods for causal inference; a hot subject in statistics and epidemiology.

The main goal of the research group is to elucidate mechanisms involved in vitamin A- and cAMP-mediated regulation of proliferation, DNA damage and apoptosis in lymphoid cells, in order to identify new targets for improved therapy of cancer and certain immune disorders.

Cell fate decisions are programmed by interactions between multiple layers of regulation of gene expression involving chromatin modifications and a dynamic organization of the genome in the 3-dimensional space of the cell nucleus.

Our research is primarily focused on optimizing nutritional status among vulnerable population groups as well as among patients with chronic diseases. We reach out both domestically as well as to Southern Africa.

We investigate communication in health care in general, and in cancer care and medical education in particular

How does the brain work?

We investigate processes in the brains of awake, behaving animals in order to better understand how the brain works in real time, and reveal the mechanisms underlying perception, learning and memory.

The goal of this research group is to understand the mechanisms by which a plant based dietary pattern mediates protective effects.

Our primary interest is to study dietary prevention of cholesterol-induced inflammation in early atherosclerosis.

One of the main objectives of the research group is to develop, test and validate instruments that can be used to map diet and eating patterns in different age groups. The instruments are used in large population groups and among patients with disease-related malnutrition to identify nutritional challenges.

We conduct intervention studies to explore how we can change eating behaviors related to known challenges. Examples of this are how can we get children to eat more vegetables, and how can we reduce disease-related malnutrition in inpatient patients.

A relatively new research area within the group is what is a healthy and sustainable diet based on Norwegian dietary patterns, culture and food production.

Our research is focused on development and evaluation of dietary assessment methods and dietary habits among children, adolescents and adults, and on associations between diet and various diseases.

Epidemiological and statistical methods are crucial for our understanding of health and diseases.

The research group works with statistical and epidemiological projects.

The laboratory for experimental cardiology aims to identify molecular mechanisms that regulates short term and long term cardiac function. The goal is to develop future treatment for cardiac disease by detailed understanding of how signal molecules controls ion transporters and gene regulatory proteins.

The research group Glial cells was founded by professor Erlend Nagelhus. The group explores functions of astrocytes, the starshaped glial cells, in the healthy brain and in neurological disorders by two-photon laser scanning microscopy.

We study changes in proteoglycans in inflammation and obesity and in kidneys in relation to diabetes and atherosclerosis. We also work with nutrition and health for persons with intellectual disabilities

A leading research group in the field of mental health and work among medical students and physicians.

We want to improve our understanding of the pathophysiological events underlying acute ischemic injury of the heart and the subsequent remodelling which may lead to heart failure. We also work towards identifying new therapeutic targets to reduce these injuries.

We study the cardiovascular control mechanisms in healthy subjects and patients. We investigate the interaction between  circulation and respiration, control of cerebral blood flow, and the interaction between endothelial and autonomic functions.

The Immunbiological Laboratory's focus is on immune cell communication and function, and the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms causing autoimmune disease.

Our research is focused on quantitative mathematical studies of infectious diseases.

Our lab studies how the brain turns sensory information into perceptions. The physical stimuli reaching our eyes and ears are very complex, yet our perception of the outer world appears rather simple. To understand how we are able to interact with the physical world so efficiently, we study the fundamental principles by which brain circuits operate.

Our focus is to understand the role of intracellular lipid droplets and how alterations in these may lead to various lipid-mediated diseases.

The research group works with methodological problems in applied epidemiologic research and in high-dimensional data situations. We have in particular focused on problems related to measurement error and misclassification. However, lately, more general problems related to analysis of high-dimensional data have been explored.

Our group uses an experimental approach to investigate the cognitive and physiological mechanisms underlying the experience, processing, and consequences of different kinds of reward.

Our research group investigates how macronutrient metabolism can be used to regulate inflammation associated with obesity and obesity related comorbidities.

The Laboratory for Molecular Neuroscience investigates molecular mechanisms involved in physiological processes such as cell volume regulation, gliovascular signaling, maintenance of the blood-brain-barrier integrity and role of the brain extracellular matrix in normal brain function.

Natural killer (NK) cells eliminate cancer cells and cells infected with several viruses and bacteria, while sparing normal cells .

The Laboratory of Neural Development  (NDEVOR) is dedicated to the study of the functional development of brain and spinal cord networks with special focus on motor and premotor circuitry.

NeSys is a computational neuroanatomy, neuroimaging, and neuroinformatics laboratory. We aim at developing and implementing new technologies for analysis of brain architecture, connectivity, and gene and molecular distribution at the level of regions and whole brain.

The research group focuses on the study of intrathecal immune responses in neurological diseases, in particular multiple sclerosis (MS). Through this, we aim to understand disease mechanisms to contribute to more specific therapeutic approaches.

We are interested in the pathophysiological mechanisms of perinatal hypoxic–ischemic global injury, neuroprotective intervention and brain repair. We also investigate the human cardiovascular physiology including control and regulation of the cardiovascular system.

The Neurotransporter Group focuses on the transporter proteins moving transmitter amino acids (GABA, glutamate and glycine) across cell membranes, and on the roles of these transporters in normal brain physiology and disease.

Our research focus is to define the regulatory signalling pathways controlled by nuclear receptors in energy balance and lifestyle-related diseases.

The focus of this research group is to understand the roles of foods on growth, development, as well as prevention of life style diseases such as diabetes, and coronary heart disease. We are investigating the mechanisms of cellular transport and effects on cellular growth, function and metabolism of dietary lipids and other food constituents.

We study the relationship between dietary factors and various chronic diseases, with special focus on breast and colon cancer.

Our primary research focus is to understand why some respond better to intervention than others. We utilize large scale datasets from controlled dietary intervention studies, which we aim of intergrating in order to define molecular profiles which can be used to predict and understand who some individuals responds better to intervention than others.

Uncertainty is an inherent part of all scientific activity and the generally agreed framework for handling uncertainty is the use of probability. Our lab focuses on enabling and making inferences with the aid of probabilistic models, with a wide range of applications in life sciences, technology and engineering. 

Our group investigates the interplay between somatic diseases, quality  of life, and mental health, including interventions aimed at improing  health and quality of life.

Public Health Nutrition is the promotion of good health through primary prevention of nutrition-related illness in the population.

Our main research focus is on receptors that are expressed by cells of the innate immune system. Many of these receptors are pattern-recognition (PRR) receptors that are important for recognition of pathogens. Examples are Dectin-2, which is important for the recognition of fungi, and Mincle which recognizes certain fungal species, bacteria, and mycobacteria. The latter is of great importance for research on tuberculosis, since Mincle recognizes "cord factor", one of the most important virulence factors for mycobacterium tuberculosis.

We investigate how membranes of the secretory pathway are regulated by signal transduction pathways and, we want to understand how spatial organization of signaling molecules contributes to the outcome of signaling pathways.

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Innovative computationally intensive inference for complex stochastic models in the life sciences. We develop statistical methodology motivated by specific problems in science, technology, industry and society.

My group studies how neurons in the mammalian brain communicate with each other at synapses. We use advanced electrophysiological, imaging and computer modeling techniques to analyze synaptic signaling mechanisms in presynaptic axons and postsynaptic dendrites.

Neurons of the brain communicate through contact points called synapses. This research group focuses on synapses and their highly developed capacities for structural and functional change.

The main focus of our research is to identify and characterize genetic factors that influence individual susceptibility to develop autoimmune diseases, in particular multiple sclerosis.

The goal of our research is to reduce the level of cardiovascular disease by developing new diagnostic methods and treatment strategies.

The research involves studies on B vitamins, homocysteine, cysteine and related sulfur amino acids.

Our laboratory "Ruzzin lab" is interested in inter-organ communication and molecular metabolism underlying health and disease.