Ladies and Gentlemen,

Tonight we celebrate and pay tribute to brilliant minds and to great scientific discoveries, with the Brain Prize Ceremony. It’s great to be back.

This evening we honour three outstanding scientists, who have dedicated their lives and careers to unravelling some of the mysteries of the brain.

The Brain Prize plays an important role for Denmark – as a neuroscience nation and for the global neuroscience community as a whole.

With this prize, we get the opportunity to acknowledge some of the best scientists in the world. Scientists, who have opened our eyes to a world of new knowledge about the mysterious and fascinating brain.

Having been a part of the Brain Prize celebrations for almost a decade, I can honestly say that the great discoveries presented over the years continue to amaze me.

It is truly worth celebrating and this year’s Brain Prize is both intriguing and, from a personal point of view, also quite moving.

As the proud father of four children, I clearly recall my children’s first movements; their babbling voices when they started to speak, the touch of their hands and their stumbling feet when they took their first steps into the world.

I have watched them grow and learn new skills day by day – and truly enjoyed it.

It is a miracle happening right before our eyes; and yet, we rarely give much thought to what makes movement possible. 

But having learned about the discoveries of our three prize winners this year, I can now see it in a different light.

Most of us - outside the scientific world - tend to forget just how fascinating and marvellous the human brain is and what it makes us capable of doing.  We know that the brain enables us to have thoughts, make decisions, to plan ahead and to form memories.

Most of us are also well aware that the brain and spinal cord are involved in movement but this is something that we take for granted.

The work of this year’s prize winners shows us how complex the control of movement is and that our ability to move should be cherished.

It is no secret that I am personally very fond of physical activity.

All my life, I have appreciated sports activities such as swimming, running, cycling and skiing. But rarely have I stopped to think about what enables all of this and I can only imagine how devastating it would be to lose these abilities.

But unfortunately loss of movement is a reality for many – those that have suffered spinal cord injuries or are afflicted with Parkinson’s disease, for example.

The work of this year’s prize winners has shed new light on the wonders of the brain and pointed to new opportunities for the treatment and repair of the diseased or damaged circuits of movement.

I am therefore very pleased to present the Brain Prize this year to three scientists, who have pushed the borders of our awareness and knowledge of this important field.

Dear Professors; Martyn Goulding, Silvia Arber and Ole Kiehn.

Tonight, we honour you for your ground-breaking contributions to neuroscience.

Together, you have mapped the circuits of movement. Thanks to your work, many pieces of this puzzle have fallen into place.

I have no doubt, your achievements will inspire future generations of scientists, leading to many more discoveries in the years to come.

I am proud to present you with; The Brain Prize 2022.

Congratulations to all of you.  

 

(Det talte ord gælder)