Research Projects

MRI is indispensable in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases. These are poorly understood while their prevalence and socio-economic burden continue to rise. Structural and functional MRI can provide biomarkers for early diagnosis and potential therapeutic intervention. My research vision is to develop novel MRI methods for structural and...

The goal of BATCure is to advance the development of new therapeutic options for a group of rare lysosomal diseases - neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL) or Batten disease. There are > thousand affected across Europe, with a combined incidence of c.1:100 000. The NCLs are devastating and debilitating genetic disorders that mainly affect children...

How lipids are regulated on a global scale during vascular inflammation is not known. Thus, a major challenge exists to describe and catalog the total lipidome, in particular enabling the identification of new biologically active lipids, and description of changes. This is analogous to ‘omics’ of DNA, RNA and protein, but instead describing...

Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that currently affects 2% of the population in industrialized countries; the risk of LOAD increases in individuals beyond the age of 70 and it is predicted that the incidence of LOAD will increase 4-fold within the next 50 years which may cause a great socioeconomic problem...

In this work, I propose the use of a nano/microfluidic system to detect biomarkers relevant to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The use of this system could give earlier and more accurate diagnoses, as well as provide the opportunity for therapeutic interventions and effective disease monitoring. Prior to the diagnosis of dementia and even before the...

ReST Therapeutics is a French biotech company founded late 2020 that develops breakthrough therapies to treat complex central nervous system disorders, in particular, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) under its various forms followed by Alzheimer Disease (AD).Our lead candidate - FENM is a novel and proprietary chemical entity (NCE) targeting...

Neurodegenerative disorders such as, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and chronic stress create a major economic burden to society and a substantial reduction in quality of life for patients and families. The development of neuroregenerative therapies is notoriously difficult and...

A striking challenge in diagnosis and therapy of neurodegenerative diseases is the design of drugs capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a tightly regulated barrier that prevents the passage of drugs from the blood to the brain. In vitro cellular BBB models are available, but they mimic only healthy conditions without taking into...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia, affecting over 50 million people worldwide. Characterized by memory loss, cognitive decline, and the formation of amyloid-β plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, AD presents a significant global health burden. Current AD models, particularly in mice, fail to accurately represent the sporadic...

DORIAN GRAY project investigates the link between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in the ageing population. Its goal is to uncover underlying mechanisms to promote healthy, independent, and active living while reducing disease burden. Aligned with EU-Horizon Europe’s Strategic Plan on NCDs prevention, the project...

During the course of the PRISTINE proposal we have developed the first high precision high sensitivity stable isotope measurements for a variety of vital elements, including Zn, and Cu . With these technical advances we realized that we could monitor stable isotopic changes within organisms that open up a new way to study metal homeostasis as well...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the major cause of dementia which has no cure at the moment. The overall aim of the work described in this proposal is to create a long-term strategic partnership between Sheffield University (UK), Lisbon University (Portugal), Eli Lilly (UK) and Biofordrug (Italy) in order to develop chemical biology tools for better...