The cellular and molecular response in aging and pathology
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The immune response
The immune response in the brain is a crucial contributor to pathology. We investigate how microglia (the brain's macrophages) change during aging and neurodegenerative disease, both on the cellular and molecular level.
We use genetically modified models to validate our hypotheses and to elucidate the role of immune cells in disease pathogenesis.
Vascular dysfunction in aging and neurodegenerative disease
Vascular dysfunction and medin
Vascular aging is now recognised as a strong driver of organ dysfunction.
We recently demonstrated that age-related vascular dysfunction in the brain is strongly improved in the absence of the amyloid medin.
Since medin is the most common human amyloid known to date, it may be an important driver of age-associated decline of brain health. Therefore, we are investigating the mechanisms of medin aggregation as well as therapeutic approaches that target its removal.
Towards a systems level understanding of brain disease
More than just its parts
Many brain diseases are now recognised as being multifactorial, showing genetic and non-genetic components as well as co-occurence of distinct pathological alterations.
However, there is currently a lack of studies aiming to mechanistically dissect how these different insults synergise to cause brain disease. We plan to combine a range of different methodologies to generate a systems analysis of Alzheimer's disease.
To perform the best possible science, we work in collaboration with many national and international partners. While they are not named here explicitly, they contribute significantly to our success and we greatly enjoy working with them. For more details on our well-established collaborators, please see our publications.
We are grateful for the financial support of our projects by many funding bodies, charities, and industrial partners, including:
