Our research

Alzheimer’s disease (AD)  is a multifaceted disease, among others characterized by Aβ plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles. This highlights the need for a diversified drug portfolio. Tau pathology is a promising drug target due to its strong associations with synaptic density, atrophy, and cognition.

We envision two treatment options to be potentially effective in halting or slowing AD:

1) preventing the spreading of pathological tau

2) boosting resilience against tau pathology.

Both processes are currently insufficiently understood, especially in living humans. We uniquely utilize longitudinal tau PET data in conjunction with functional and structural MRI, biofluid, genetic and cognitive data, to investigate mechanisms of tau spread and resilience in humans. This will enhance our understanding of tau spreading and resilience, and may ultimately identify novel leads for drug discovery against AD.

Aims

• Advance our understanding of tau spreading and resilience in AD.
• Improve the diagnostic and prognostic work-up in AD.
• Ultimately identify novel leads for drug discovery against AD.

Impact

With our research, we aim to improve the diagnostic/prognostic work-up (short-term goal) and to cure AD (long-term goal). Our vision is that both goals will only be achieved if we can fully understand the neurobiological substrate of cognitive heterogeneity among individuals with AD.

How our research contributes to the goals of MultiPark

 Our research addresses the aim of MultiPark's working group 6. 

Research Team & Publications

Our group is a specific subgroup within a larger context of clinical memory research.

Read about publications and research team members of the Clinical Memory Research in the LU Research Portal.