Bente Frølund

Bente Frølund is a Professor in the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. Her research focuses on neuropharmacology with emphasis on GHB/CaMK2 pharmacology and ionotropic GABA_A receptors, as well as nACh receptors and GABA transporters.

Her research interests include:

• GHB/CaMK2 pharmacology
• Ionotropic GABA_A receptors
• Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nACh)
• GABA transporters (GAT and TauT)
• Structure-activity relationship studies
• Development of photoligands for protein localization and activation
• Engineered molecular probes for ligand-protein interactions

Professor Frølund's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on receptor pharmacology, particularly exploring the interactions between GHB ligands and CaMKIIα, as well as the development of novel ligands for GABA_A and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Her work combines medicinal chemistry approaches with neuropharmacological evaluation to develop molecular tools for studying receptor function and potential therapeutic applications, with neuroprotection being a key focus area.

Her scientific contributions include 178 research outputs as documented in her publication record, spanning journal articles, book chapters, patents, and conference presentations. Her work has been referenced in Wikipedia pages, picked up by news outlets, and discussed on social media platforms including X, Facebook, Bluesky, and Reddit.

Professor Frølund collaborates extensively with researchers both within the University of Copenhagen and internationally, as indicated by the network visualization in her profile. Her laboratory develops molecular probes and novel methodologies to gain insight into the identity, localization, function, and therapeutic potential of target receptors and transporters.