Post-doctoral research in the "Neurodegerative Diseases" group of the "Laboratories for translational research"

PHD PSYCHOLOGY

Dr Zoë Van Acker graduated summa cum laude as a ‘Master of Science in Biochemistry and Biotechnology: molecular and cellular gene biotechnology’ at the University of Antwerp. She performed her PhD studies in the lab of Prof. Sylvia Dewilde. During this time, she worked on ‘neuroglobin’, a neuronal protein with cytoprotective traits under hypoxic conditions, SOD1-linked amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology. Dr Van Acker joined the Annaert lab (VIB-KU Leuven) as a Postdoc in 2018 to elucidate the capacity and physiological relevance of lysosomes in degrading ssDNA/RNA and how this impacts neuronal proteostasis in the late-onset AD context. To this end, her work focuses on the lysosomal exonuclease Phospholipase D3 (PLD3). In 2021, Dr Van Acker received the Dale Schenk award from the Alzheimer's Association Research Roundtable for her ongoing work.

My main focus is the investigation of the prion-like spreading of alpha-synuclein along the gut-brain axis in animal models of Parkinson’s disease subtypes. Recently, my group has provided evidence for a bidirectional gut-to-brain spread of alpha-synuclein pathology through the autonomic connectome, incl. pre-motor autonomic dysfunction. Moreover, I am involved in translational Parkinson's disease research including histology studies of archived tissue specimens from patients with Parkinson’s disease and multi-modality imaging of patient cohorts (and animal models) to characterize different subtypes of Parkinson’s disease.

Professor Wiesje van der Flier is full professor and scientific director of the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam at Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands, where she has worked since 2004. She studied neuropsychology at the University of Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands. In addition, Professor van der Flier is a clinical epidemiologist. She leads the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort, an ongoing memory clinic-based cohort including more than 6000 patients with deep phenotyping (MRI, EEG, CSF biomarkers, and PET) and linked biobank (blood, DNA, CSF). The Amsterdam Dementia Cohort is at the basis of many of the studies performed at the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam. She has been (co)promotor of >20 theses and is currently supervising ~10 PhD projects. Professor van der Flier’s main research areas are the origin of Alzheimer’s disease, its diagnosis and prognosis, and intervention and prevention. She leads ABOARD (A Personalized Medicine Approach for Alzheimer’s Disease), a Dutch public–private partnership of more than 30 partners. Together with colleague Philip Scheltens, she has written a book, Het Alzheimermysterie, which was published by the Arbeiderspers.

Third year PhD candidate with a focus on protein biology in neurodegeneration (Amsterdam UMC, VU, The Netherlands). MSc. in Biomedical Sciences, cluster Neurobiology, track Psychopharmacology and Pathophysiology (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands). BSc. in Psychobiology (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands). My ambition is to identify disease associated epitopes and PTMs of tau and alpha-synuclein, contribute to development of the first clinical biomarker for alpha-synuclein and to get a better understanding of the different alpha-synuclein species in various synucleinopathies. Working closely with industry partners on bringing science from bench to bedside. Presenting my work on tau and apha-synuclein species (epitopes/PTMs/configurations) in 'pure' AD and PD cases without copathologies versus cases which display a mixed pathological profile for tau and alpha-synuclein.

As a physician-scientist, Dr. Van Laar has been researching gene therapy approaches for Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders since 2002, both in the laboratory and through multiple gene therapy clinical trials. Dr. Van Laar obtained her MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2009, followed by residency training in Neurology and a clinical-research fellowship in Movement Disorders. Following her medical training, she continued as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the Movement Disorders division. She continues to contribute to the Parkinson’s disease community as a board member of the Parkinson’s Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, in addition to other outreach programs. Dr. Van Laar continues her work with gene therapy and now serves as the Vice President of Clinical Development for CNS Gene Therapy at Asklepios BioPharmacetuical Inc. (AskBio). Her background brings a unique blend of preclinical, clinical, and clinical-trial development experience to the advancement of gene therapy as a new platform to address the underlying causes of Parkinson’s disease, Multiple System Atrophy, and similar brain diseases.

Dedicated neuroscientist with more than 20 years of academic and industry experience transforming diagnostics. Presently serving as Chief Scientific Officer for BRAINBox Solutions, a diagnostics company in Virginia, founded in 2018, and focused on providing diagnostic and prognostic tests for brain injury and chronic neurodegeneration.

I serve as Executive Co-Director of the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rhode Island. Our research efforts focus on the molecular pathology of ADRD with a focus on cerebral amyloid angiopathy. We utilize biochemical, molecular, cellular and animal model approaches. In particular, we continue to generate and refine rodent models for CAA and other cerebral small vessel diseases to serve as preclinical platforms for biomarker development and testing of novel therapeutic interventions.

Anna van Regteren Altena is a PhD candidate in the lab of prof. dr. Elly Hol at the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU) Brain Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Her research is part of the Brainscapes Consortium, and focusses on the molecular and cellular identification of the neuronal and glial cell types of the human Ventral Tegmental Area in health and disease. Anna received her Bachelor's and Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. During her Master's, she developed various expertises in molecular and cellular neurobiology during internships in the the Hoogenraad lab at the department of Cell Biology, Utrecht University, and in the Fournier lab at the Montréal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill Univeristy in Montréal, Canada.

Eugeen Vanmechelen is a Belgian Scientist, Chief Scientific Officer of ADx NeuroSciences, which he co-founded with three colleagues in 2011. Thirty years ago he was involved in the characterization of the first well-know phospho-tau dependent antibodies, such as AT8 and AT270, and build the foundation of the first recognized fluid biomarkers, tau, phospho-tau and amyloidβ42 in cerebrospinal fluid for Alzheimer’s disease. Recent work focused on the development of plasma ptau high-sensitivity immunoassays, such as ptau-231, and was engaged in several head-to-head studies of plasma ptau. As probably the most optimal way to develop treatment or prevention in Alzheimer’s disease his current focus of biomarker work is on the synaptic integrity in these early presymptomatic and prodromal phases of the disease.