This week we asked Claus Ziegler Simonsen to share seven minutes in stroke with us. The idea behind the 'Seven Minutes in Stroke' series is to help build a stroke community of early career researchers, who can learn about each other, share what they're working on, potential collaborations and to advance science. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far!
1. What inspired you towards neuroscience?
My answer is ordinary, but true. It was Oliver Sacks' book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat."
2. Why stroke?
The combination of interesting neurological deficits, estimating the location, getting the result (by scanning), treating and often seeing that the treatment benefits the patient. And all this often occurring in a very short time span.
3. What have been the highs so far?
In medical school I did a research year where I was part of a team who developed a stroke model in the pig. We performed one of the first diffusion weighted scans at our hospital. (Just one image slice.) Seeing the stroke and realizing that the model worked was very exciting. Another high was when endovascular treatment became evidence based. What many felt was the right thing to do, was now proven.
4. What have been the lows?
When we can't help a patient.
5. How do you balance work life with the needs of home life?
By working when the kids are asleep.
6. Who are your most important mentors and how did you find them?
Grethe Andersen (Aarhus University Hospital), who is my mentor and closest work colleague. Leif Østergaard (Aarhus University Hospital), who introduced me to MRI and who was my supervisor at my PhD. Jonathan Rosand (Massachusetts General Hospital), who gave me the opportunity to work in Boston. Albert J. Yoo (Texas Stroke Institute), who taught me a lot about thrombectomy and imaging. All found by coincidence and luck.
7. What are your most important collaborations and how have you built them?
Thabele Leslie-Mazwi (Massachusetts General Hospital) and Ronil V. Chandra (Monash University). Built on common interest and friendship.
