CNSx3 Research Center

CNSx3 goals – Our overall goal is to create a model of, to understand and treat, brain diseases.

We are funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF), our center unites leading expertise in biotechnology, neuroscience, microfluidics, data science, and clinical research across Sweden.

Collaboration for real‑world impact

CNSx3
MRC UU, Framtidens Forskning
Photo Mikael Wallerstedt

CNS×3 is a national research centre advancing how we model, understand, and treat brain diseases. Funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF), the centre unites leading expertise in biotechnology, neuroscience, microfluidics, data science, and clinical research across Sweden.

Next-generation brain models

Photo of organoids assembly with vascular cells is taken with the help of the PhD-students Sona Hakhverdyan, Srijita Banerjee and researcher Maximiliano Arce.

At the core of CNS×3 is the development of vascularized, patient‑derived brain organoids integrated into microfluidic chip platforms. These 3D models recapitulate key structural and functional features of human brain tissue, enabling mechanistic studies of:

Glioblastoma and other malignant brain tumours
Paediatric CNS tumours
Cerebral vascular malformations and neurovascular disorders

By combining organoid technology with real‑time imaging, high‑content analysis, and AI‑driven modelling, CNS×3 provides a powerful platform for dissecting disease progression and treatment response.

Towards personalized brain therapies

Using patient samples from national biobanks, the center develops strategies to predict which treatments work, for whom, and when. This includes optimizing drug delivery, timing, and combination strategies to support precision medicine for neurological disease. The center also have knowledge of making iPSC, embryo bodies and cortical and cerebella organoids.

Training the next generation

CNS×3 runs a national research school offering advanced training in:

Organoid and stem‑cell technologies
Microfluidics and organ‑on‑chip systems
Computational modelling and AI
Research ethics and responsible innovation

Principal Investigators

8 Professors from Uppsala University, Uppsala University Hospital, University of Gothenburg, Linköpings university and Chamlers.

Maria Tenje
Professor at Materials science, Micro system techniques
Uppsala University
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt

Industry Partners

Affiliated Principal Investigators

Géraldine Giraud – CNSx3 Affiliated PI

Contributing with expertise in clinical pediatric neuro oncology especially to advancements in development of treatment strategies for high-grade glioma. Supervising PhD-student Srijita Banerjee.

Wojciech Piotr Michno – CNSx3 Affiliated PI

Expertise in neurobiology and neurochemistry, platform for developmental and transdifferentiation models and assembloids. Spatial phenomics analysis including single cell metabolomics and proteomics. Supervising PhD-student Sona Hakhverdyan.

Mats Nilsson – CNSx3 Affiliated PI

Contributing with knowledge of how to reveal tumors through spatial genomics, mapping cancer one cell at a time. Platform Director at Spatial Biology, SciLifeLab and Professor at Stockholm University.

Karin Forsberg Nilsson – CNSx3 Affiliated PI

Expertise in strategies to improved treatment of malignant brain tumors. Targeting the extra cellular matrix in brain tumors for therapeutic intervention with focus on heparan sulfate proteoglycans.

Anna Falk – CNSx3 Affiliated PI

Supporting with knowledge in cellular models of neural stem cells, neurons and
glia from iPS cells. Especially with focus on early neurogenesis and modeling of neurodevelopment and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Margareta Wilhelm – CNSx3 Affiliated PI

Supporting with knowledge on understanding mechanisms regulating tumor initiation and tumor invading patterns. Also contributing with knowledge of transgenic models, cellular reprogramming, stem cells, and brain organoids to model tumor development.

Governing Board

Representing from collaboration company, Innovation center, European union, University and Hospital

Governing Board

Chair Hillevi Englund, Ph.D. – Business Advisor at Uppsala University Innovation

Jana Bergholz, Ph.D. – Patient Representative, CASE (Cavernöst Angiom Sverige)

Agata Zeba Wicher, Ph.D. – Chief Product and Science Officer, Navinci Diagnostics AB

Elisabet Sjöström, Ph.D. – CEO, Key2Brain AB

Bettina Ryll, Ph.D. – Melanoma Patient Network Europe

Sven Nelander, Ph.D. – Professor, Uppsala University

Daniel Aili, Ph.D. – Professor, Linköping University

Peetra Magnusson, Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Uppsala University

The Scientific Advisory Board

The Scientific Advisory Board

Simon Tavaré, Ph.D. – Founding Director, Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics, Columbia University

Pratati Bandopadhayay, M.D., Ph.D. – Director, Dana Farber Cancer Institute Low-Grade Glioma Program; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Nils Gauthier, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Mechano-Oncology, IFOM Institute of Molecular Oncology, Milan

Kristina Haase, Ph.D. – Research Group Leader, Tissue Biology and Disease Modeling, EMBL Barcelona