Research Projects

ProtEprobe takes advantage of the recent cutting edge developments in protein conformation control at the Malliaras group and high sensitive protein sensing using high sensitivity factor triangular silver nanoplates by the fellow. Misfolding of a protein occurs when it becomes trapped in a local potential energy minimum where the conformation...

Ageing of the European population is increasing prevalence of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is considered a public health priority due to socio-economic costs and limited efficacy of current pharmacological treatments. Co-registration of electroencephalogram (EEG) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a novelty...

Advancing age is the major risk factor for many serious illnesses, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and dementia. The rising number of older individuals is thus causing a major burden of ill health. However, individuals that reach an exceptional old age often seem to escape or delay age-related diseases, and part of this trait seems to be...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease, manifested by a progressive loss of synaptic connectivity, neuronal death and memory impairment. AD affects 1 out of 10 Europeans aged over 65. There are no effective therapies for AD, in part because there is no proven molecular explanation of the steps leading from initial neuronal...

Ageing is one of the most critical risk factors for neurological and psychiatric diseases. However, the biological links between physiological ageing and pathological development are still largely unknown. A solid understanding of the biology of brain ageing will thus be a key to developing the means to treat these diseases. Since neurons in the...

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. It affects millions of people and is expected to increase in the coming decades due to aging of the population. Optogenetics combines optics and genetics to gain insight into brain function by genetically inserting light-sensitive transmembrane proteins into neurons. Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2)...

Therapies for neurological disorders often involve deeply invasive brain operations or implants. A largely overlooked aspect of these conditions is the high comorbidity of GI-related disorders. Although the top-down relationship between the brain and peripheral organs has dominated the field, its now clear that activity of peripheral organs, in...

Enzymes are the most efficient, specific and selective catalysts known up to date. Despite the enzyme advantages, not all synthetic processes present a natural enzyme to catalyze and accelerate the reactions. Hence, the design of new stable enzymes for those processes where no biocatalyst is known represents a major challenge for protein...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias affect over 7 million individuals in Europe. There is, as yet, no treatment to halt or reverse disease progression despite huge investments into research. The accumulation of the amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta), derived from the amyloid precursor protein (APP) in the brain, is a key factor in the...

Cholesterol is a structural component of membranes and plays a key role in human health by regulating the fluidity of membranes and affecting signaling pathways. Intracellular cholesterol transport proteins (CTP) are responsible for maintaining cholesterol homeostasis by regulating local cholesterol concentrations, arising from de novo biosynthesis...

Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia is a global public health priority. EURO-FINGERS builds upon the successful experiences of two multimodal prevention trials: the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) and the JPND-funded MIND-AD. The FINGER intervention trial showed that a...

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are the cornerstone of many regenerative medicine projects, and offer researchers a powerful new approach to model and study a range of diseases. The European Bank for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC) was established to provide researchers across academia and the pharmaceutical industry with disease...