Research Projects

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia (60-80% of cases) with a prevalence near 50 million people. There is no cure available and there are only two classes of approved drugs that are effective in treat some of the cognitive symptoms and potentially delay the clinical decline. Despite the considerable progress achieved in the...

"Scientific breakthroughs in neuroscience explain the need for sleep and the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases in terms of fluid dynamics: the waste created during the day is cleared away as we sleep or it accumulates. However, a decade of research after the original theory was posed has revealed...

This project aims to investigate the early associations between cardiovascular health and Alzheimers disease (AD) pathology, with a focus on subclinical atherosclerosis (SCAth) and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs), in a large cohort of asymptomatic, middle-aged individuals. The overarching objective is to determine how cardiovascular health in...

Maintaining the quality of all proteins in an organism is fundamental to life since it ensures tissue function, organismal health, and longevity. Protein quality control (PQC) is achieved by selective degradation of damaged proteins, limiting the formation of protein aggregates and neurodegeneration characteristic of Alzheimers, Huntingtons, and...

CLARA, the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing in System Brain Research, represents the interdisciplinary center of excellence focused on the next generation of artificial intelligence/machine learning applications and quantum-centric supercomputing tools to push the frontier of neurodegeneration research, particularly...

Lipids are essential components of cell membranes. Every organelle membrane is constituted of a unique composition of different lipid species. This distinctive lipid distribution along organelle membranes is important to maintain the identity and functions of the different organelles. In this research project, I aim to understand how the lipid...

Circadian rhythm (CR) regulates body functions over the 24-hour day/night period; sleep/wake cycle is its most visible manifestation. CR disruptions have long been observed in patients with dementia and emerging evidence points to their presence in the preclinical period of dementia. This suggests that certain aspects of CR could be useful in...

Celeris Therapeutics is a deep learning company that uses innovative, in-silico methods such as geometric deep learning and graph neural networks to degrade currently undruggable targets (pathogenic proteins). The platform shall make a broad impact by addressing currently incureable diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and different types of...

The Doctoral Network “Co-designing a Home with Dementia” (HOMEDEM) is a Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Actions' Innovative Training Network that will provide high-level training in design and dementia caregiving, to high achieving, early-stage researchers. HOMEDEM focuses on the recent move across Europe towards supporting people with dementia (PwD) living...

"Tau is an intrinsically disordered protein that regulates microtubule activity in neurons. Aggregation of tau into amyloid fibrils is diagnostic of several diseases, termed tauopathies, that include Alzheimer's disease. Distinct amyloid aggregate structures, so-called ""strains"", are involved in different tauopathies. These assemblies can spread...

The COVID pandemic can be seen as an experiment done with the entirety of humankind (as almost everybody has been or will get infected with SARS-CoV-2). It will therefore have the best coverage over the widest variation possible and is therefore ideally suited to study the effects of infections with SARS-CoV-2 on large quantities of heterogeneous...

Virtually every decision people make comes with a sense of confidence – a subjective estimate of decision quality. The human capacity for confidence has tremendous social, clinical, and industrial impact. For example, children who can correctly judge their own level of confidence perform better academically. In the elderly, confidence declines...