In the Nørremølle research group our goal is to understand the pathogenic mechanisms causing the cellular damage in inherited neurodegenerative disorders, with specific focus on Huntington disease. In this disease, despite a well-characterized disease-causing mutation, neither the physiological functions nor the mechanisms behind the pathological changes are known.

Right now we concentrate on investigating the metabolic changes observed in both neuronal and non-neuronal cell types in Huntington disease cell and animal models. We study mitochondrial function and oxidative stress in order to understand the importance of these processes in the disease, and aiming to characterize new targets for future treatment strategies.

In another line of research, we analyze the DNA sequence of the huntingtin gene region in Danish patients with Huntington disease, looking for DNA variants that modify the disease onset or progression. The rationale is that genes carrying these variants represent possible targets for treatment: modifying the modifiers.

In addition to our work in Huntington disease research we participate in collaborations investigating other inherited neurodegenerative disorders.

Anne Nørremølle is course director of the course in Medical Genetics, offered to students of medicine as well as molecular biomedicine. This course runs twice a year with a total of 576 students per year. We aim to constantly develop the teaching methods and curriculum in order to optimize the student’s motivation and learning outcome. In addition, we offer a course in Gene Therapy for master level students of molecular biomedicine, biochemistry, biology and biotechnology. This course conveys up-to-date knowledge of a quickly developing field of research through original scientific papers and lectures from scientist in the field. Finally, the Nørremølle group has supervised numerous bachelor-, master- and Ph.D.-students, all of which have graduated with very good or excellent grades.