Research Projects

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), such as Dementia, Parkinson’s and motor neuron diseases, are a major and continuously growing worldwide health issue, particularly devastating for patients and their families. Yet, no cures are available, largely due to the lack of knowledge of ND pathogenic mechanisms. Strikingly, co-occurrence of several NDs in...

Our memories are arguably what make us who we are, making dementia a particularly cruel disease. Decades of research have revealed that two interconnected brain regions, the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) and hippocampus (HP), are required for successful spatial memory formation in mammals. Each region contains specialized neurons that fire...

In 2010, 800 billion Euros was spent on brain diseases in Europe and the cost is expected to increase due to the aging population. – Here I propose to exploit our new discovery for research to alleviate this disease burden. In work selected by Nature Medicine among the top 10 ”Notable Advances” and by Science as one of the 10 ”Breakthroughs of the...

Despite enormous research efforts across academia and pharmaceutical industry, all clinical trials over the last decade have failed in finding a treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) which remains one of the greatest challenges in drug discovery. Taking consideration all together three prevailing AD hypotheses: Amyloid Cascade, Metal Ions and...

Projections indicate that, by 2050, every person aged 85 years or more will be diagnosed with a cognition-related disease. While there is currently no clear strategy for curing such diseases, there are promising developments in the early diagnosis of disease and the inhibition of worsening symptoms. Building on results obtained during my post...

Growing evidence suggests that unbalanced Wnt signalling contributes to early stages of Alzheimer´s Disease (AD). mRNA levels of the Wnt antagonist Dikkoff1 (Dkk1) are increased in AD brains and by Amyloid-ß (Aß) in vitro. Importantly, suppression of Dkk1 activity protects synapses from Aß. Genome-Wide Association Studies also provide evidence for...

Most of secreted proteins transit through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi apparatus. However, eukaryotic cells secrete cytosolic proteins, which do not enter the ER. Proteins that use this “unconventional secretory pathway” include factors with critical functions and deregulation of their transport is associated to a wide range of...

The aim of this action is to understand the mechanisms behind the susceptibility of enthorinal cortex II (ECII) neurons to neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) formation in Alzheimer´s disease. To do so we will modulate the expression of the genes that according to NetWAS (Network-wide Association Study) are more directly involved in NFT formation in ECII...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a crucial problem in our society, raising the need for new therapeutic targets. Evidence suggests multiple non-neuronal cells are implicated in the systemic deficits of AD, but the complex cellular diversity in the brain hampers the investigation of specific cells and their interactions. Moreover, the course of the...

What defines the functional specialization of a cell is its unique proteome. Proteins need to be translated and properly folded to ensure their biological function. Several protein quality control pathways have arisen during evolution, some of them specialized in monitoring protein folding in specific organelles . As a result of ageing, animals...

UpSurgeOn is an Italian SME established in 2017, by Neurosurgeons for Neurosurgeons, with a focus on creating a educational platform composed by different educational apps, training and simulation devices actually in the Neurosurgical arena. We have 15 employees, including a combination of neurosurgeons, software developers, technicians and...

The French SME Amoneta Diagnostics has previously developed a diagnostic kit for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) based on two blood biomarkers that are scientifically proven to be associated with AD. The company holds the intellectual property for specific fluorescent probes that can detect these biomarkers in small amounts of blood using flow cytometry....