Signe Mathiasen Appointed Tenure Track Assistant Professor

Signe's appointment comes following an open position advertised by the department. Her research is focused on building a fundamental understanding of a new and exciting receptor named ADGRL3. ADGRL3 is expressed in the brain, and genetic studies indicate that ADGRL3 is associated with an increased risk of ADHD. The receptor is generally implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders involving dysfunctional dopamine signaling, such as schizophrenia.

"In my group, we work, among other things, on mapping the basic biological functions of ADGRL3, such as how the receptor is activated and which cellular signaling cascades are initiated as a consequence of activation."

• Signe Mathiasen

Signe's primary goal with her research is to contribute to the understanding of the role this receptor plays in neuropsychiatric diseases and how it can be exploited as a drug target. Additionally, ADGRL3 belongs to a class of proteins, 'adhesion GPCRs', which are generally understudied. Both new knowledge about these proteins' functions and new methodological developments to study these receptors will be groundbreaking for the adhesion GPCR field overall.

Head of Department Cathrine Ørskov states:

"I am very pleased that we have appointed Signe Mathiasen as a tenure-track assistant professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences. I expect that Signe's research will expand and enrich one of the department's research focus areas, molecular pharmacology, and that through her knowledge and experience, she will make a significant contribution to our new course in pharmacology and innovation for medical students."

Before joining the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Signe was associated with Columbia University in New York for several years, where she was employed as a postdoc and later as an assistant professor. Last year, Signe was also awarded the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Hallas-Møller Emerging Investigator Grant to support the establishment of her own research group here at the department.

"After several years abroad, I am incredibly happy to now start my tenure track journey at the Department of Biomedical Sciences. I look forward immensely to continuing to be an active part of the department and to contribute both to the interdisciplinary research profile of the department and to the departments teaching. Being situated in such a strong transnational research environment will undoubtedly open new avenues for my research, and I am very excited to start new collaborations.

I also look forward to welcoming students at all levels to my group. This department stands out by creating a unique research environment for fundamental molecular biomedical research, and it is also an department that strongly supports diversity and new talents. It is a great honor for me to now work on further anchoring my group here."

• Signe Mathiasen

Signe will be part of the research theme Molecular and Translational Pharmacology. We at the department congratulate Signe on her appointment and look forward to following her research in the future.