Haakon Nygaard MD, PhD
Appointments:
Associate Professor, Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
Fipke Professor in Alzheimer’s Research
Director, UBC Hospital Clinic for Alzheimer and Related Disorders (UBCH-CARD)
Board-certified in Neurology and Behavioural Neurology
Biography:
Haakon obtained his Bachelor of Science at Creighton University in the US where he was the top player for their NCAA Div 1 tennis team. He stayed at Creighton for his medical degree, followed by Neurology Residency at Yale University where he was also Chief Resident. He stayed at Yale following his residency for a PhD in Investigative Medicine under the mentorship of Stephen Strittmatter. He studied the role of cellular prion protein as a high affinity receptor for amyloid-beta, and the downstream signaling pathway of this interaction. His work led to a large translational program using the src family kinase inhibitor saracatinib as a novel, repurposed therapy for Alzheimer’s. The project culminated in a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with AD. He has been the PI on several other clinical studies, including ongoing work using ketogenic approaches in AD, and a novel use of ambulatory sleep EEG, combined with machine learning strategies, to stage sleep in Alzheimer’s.
The major focus of the Nygaard lab is novel target discovery in Alzheimer’s and Frontotemporal dementia, using human induced pluripotent stem cell models (hiPSC). The lab is at the forefront of 3D tissue engineering, using both existing protocols for 3D constructs as well as novel 3D printing methodology. The work aims to better understand basic mechanisms not previously characterized in dementia syndromes using these emerging technologies, and develop new therapies.
Personally, Haakon is married to Linda Nygaard, and has two boys aged 9 and 11. When not in the lab he enjoys tennis, skiing, biking, and anything else amazing BC has to offer.