Meet the experts
Professor Charlotte Teunissen
Professor of Neurochemistry, Chair of Neurochemistry Lab, Amsterdam UMC, The Netherlands
Charlotte Teunissen’s drive is to improve care of patients with neurological diseases by developing body fluid biomarkers for diagnosis, stratification, prognosis and monitoring treatment responses. Studies of her research group span the entire spectrum of biomarker development, starting with biomarker identification, often by –omics methods, followed by biomarker assay development and analytical validation, and lastly, extensive clinical validation and implementation of novel biomarkers in clinical practice.
She has extensive expertise with assay development on state-of-the-art technologies, such as mass spectrometry and antibody-based arrays for biomarker discovery, ultrasensitive immunoassays, and in implementation of vitro diagnostic technologies for clinical routine lab analysis. She is responsible for the large well-characterized biobank of the Amsterdam Dementia cohort, containing >10,000 paired CSF and serum samples of individuals visiting the memory clinic of the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam (a.o. controls, patients with Alzheimer, Frontotemporal, Lewy Bodies). To ensure the quality of the biosamples, the group studies pre-analytical effects, which are key to implementation.
Prof Teunissen is leading several collaborative international biomarker networks, such as the Society for Neurochemistry and routine CSF analysis and the Alzheimer Association-Global Biomarker Standardization and Blood Based Biomarkers and the Body fluid Biomarkers PIA, and the recently founded Coral proteomics consortium. She is the coordinator of the Marie Curie MIRIADE project, aiming to train 15 novel researchers into innovative strategies to develop dementia biomarkers (10 academic centers + 10 non-academic centers), and the JPND bPRIDE project, that aims to develop targeted blood-based biomarker panels for early differential diagnoses of specific dementias and is a collaborative project between 7 European and 1 Australian centers.
Disclosures
Charlotte E. Teunissen is employed by Amsterdam UMC. She has grants or contracts for Research of the European Commission (Marie Curie International Training Network, grant agreement No 860197 (MIRIADE), Innovative Medicines Initiatives 3TR (Horizon 2020, grant no 831434) EPND ( IMI 2 Joint Undertaking (JU), grant No. 101034344) and JPND (bPRIDE), National MS Society (Progressive MS alliance), Alzheimer Drug Discovery Foundation, Alzheimer Association, Health Holland, the Dutch Research Council (ZonMW), including TAP-dementia, a ZonMw funded project (#10510032120003) in the context of the Dutch National Dementia Strategy, Alzheimer Drug Discovery Foundation, The Selfridges Group Foundation, Alzheimer Netherlands. She is recipient of ABOARD, which is a public-private partnership receiving funding from ZonMW (#73305095007) and Health~Holland, Topsector Life Sciences & Health (PPP-allowance; #LSHM20106). She is also a contract researcher for ADx Neurosciences, AC-Immune, Aribio, Axon Neurosciences, Beckman-Coulter, BioConnect, Bioorchestra, Brainstorm Therapeutics, Celgene, Cognition Therapeutics, EIP Pharma, Eisai, Eli Lilly Fujirebio, Grifols, Instant Nano Biosensors, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Olink, PeopleBio, Quanterix, Roche, Siemens, Toyama, Vivoryon, and the European Commission. She has received payment or honoraria from Roche, Novo Nordisk, and Grifols, where all payments were made to her institution. She also serves on editorial boards of Medidact Neurologie/Springer; and in Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation. She is editor of Alzheimer Research and Therapy.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Professor Oskar Hansson
Professor of Neurology,
Lund University, Sweden
Dr Oskar Hansson gained his PhD in neurobiology in 2001 and his M.D. in 2005. He became senior consultant in neurology in 2012 at Skåne University Hospital, and full professor of neurology in 2017 at Lund University, Sweden. Oskar Hansson performs internationally recognized clinical and translational research focusing on the early phases of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. His work on biomarkers has led to over 450 original peer-reviewed publications. He heads the prospective and longitudinal Swedish BioFINDER studies (www.biofinder.se), where the research team focuses on the development of optimized diagnostic algorithms for early diagnosis, and also studies the consequences of different brain pathologies on cognitive, neurologic and psychiatric symptoms in healthy individuals and patients with dementia and parkinsonian disorders.
Disclosures
Oskar Hansson has acquired research support (for the institution) from AVID Radiopharmaceuticals, Biogen, C2N Diagnostics, Eli Lilly, Eisai, Fujirebio, GE Healthcare, and Roche. In the past 2 years, he has received consultancy/speaker fees from AC Immune, Alzpath, BioArctic, Biogen, Bristol Meyer Squibb, Cerveau, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Fujirebio, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Sanofi and Siemens.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Dr Robert Perneczky
Professor of Translational Dementia Research,
Director of the Division of Mental Health in Older Adults and Alzheimer Therapy and Research Center at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Germany
Robert Perneczky is a practicing psychiatrist and geriatrician. He is Professor of Translational Dementia Research and Director of the Division of Mental Health in Older Adults and Alzheimer Therapy and Research Center at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases. He was previously Co-Director of the Neuroepidemiology Department at Imperial College London and was recently appointed to a professorial chair at University of Sheffield. Robert’s research focusses on dementia diagnoses, prevention, and treatment. His studies apply a range of methodologies to advance the understanding of biological and clinical processes that lead to cognitive decline and associated disability. This includes imaging, fluid biomarkers, and neuropsychological and lifestyle assessments in clinical and epidemiological contexts. Robert has a Master of Business Administration degree from Warwick Business School and his more recent research interests include the readiness of healthcare systems for increased cognitive screening and uptake of future disease-modifying dementia treatments, and the collection of real-world evidence to support research and patient care.
Disclosures
Robert Perneczky has received honoraria for advisory boards and speaker engagements from Roche, EISAI, Eli Lilly, Biogen, Janssen-Cilag, Astra Zeneca, Schwabe, Grifols, Novo Nordisk and Tabuk.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Professor Dorota Religa
Professor of Geriatrics, Department of Neurobiology, Care Science and Society, Deputy Head of Clinical Geriatrics, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
Prof. Religa serves as a regular lecturer for bachelor’s, master’s, and postgraduate studies in geriatrics, neurology, and translational medicine, with particular emphasis on dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease. Lectures include studies in the field of rehabilitation, nursing, dentistry, and medicine.
Prof. Religa participates in numerous scientific projects and collaborates with European and US centers dealing with neurodegenerative diseases. She is the author of over 100 publications in highly cited journals. She is on the Board of the Swedish Geriatrics Society and the Medicines Committee of the Senior Health Initiative. Prof. Religa is a member of the Academic Board at the European Geriatrics Society (EuGMS).
Since 2008, she has been actively participating in the guidelines group of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) and has published 3 guidelines on the diagnosis, treatment, and management of dementia. Prof. Religa actively plans and regularly conducts educational workshops and oral lectures at many congresses of EAN, EuGMS, the Alzheimer’s Association International Conferences (AAIC), and the World Controversies in Neurology Congresses (CONy).
Disclosures
None to disclose.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Professor Zvezdan Pirtošek
Professor of Neurology and Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and is currently serving as Head of Neurology at the Medical Faculty at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Professor Zvezdan Pirtošek is Professor of neurology and Professor of cognitive neuroscience and is currently serving as Head of neurology at the Medical Faculty at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
He studied medicine in Ljubljana and Zagreb and did his postgraduate studies and subspecialisation in neurodegenerative disorders and cognitive neurophysiology at the National Hospital of Neurology Queen Square & University College London Institute of Neurology.
In Slovenia, Professor Pirtošek is a co-founder of TREPETLIKA, the Slovene Association of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease, current head of the Brain Council of Slovenia, current head of The Medical Council of Spominčica, Alzheimer Slovenia. He founded the Centre for Movement Disorders, Centre for Cognitive Disorders, and Laboratory for Clinical Neuroscience at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana. He is active internationally and serves as a member of the management board of the EU joint programme Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND).
His main research interests include neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive neuroscience and ageism as a form of discrimination & prejudice.
For his contribution in the field of dementia President of the Republic distinguished him with The Order of Merit of Republic of Slovenia.
Disclosures
Zvezdan Pirtosek discloses honoraria or consultation fees from Abbvie, Britannia, and Medis.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Dr Lea Grinberg
Professor of Neurology and Pathology, Uuniversity of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
Lea T. Grinberg, MD, Ph.D. trained in neuropathology and neuroanatomy. Currently, she is the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation Endowed Professor and an associate professor of neurology and pathology at UCSF. Her research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases with special emphasis on early disease stages, selective vulnerability, and pathological heterogeneity. Her contributions to the field of dementia include: identifying brainstem nuclei as the earliest structures affected in Alzheimer’s disease and translating these findings to diagnostic and treatment development, investigating the neurobiological basis of sleep dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases; developing and implementing high-resolution histology tools to validate multimodal neuroimaging findings.
Dr Grinberg directs the Human Validation Core for the National Institutes of Health-funded U54 Center Without Walls for Tau Biology, co-directs the Neurodegenerative disease brain bank at UCSF, is a Co-PI for the U54 LEADS Neuropathology Core, and is a principal investigator of the Tau Consortium. She is a member of the governing board of the Brazilian Biobank for Aging Studies, the Executive Board of the Global Brain Health Institute, and the Medical and Scientific Advisory Group for the Alzheimer Association. She is also the chairperson for the selection committee of the Global Brain Health Institute, and immediate past chair of Neuromodularoty Subcortical System PIA of the ISTAART.
Disclosures
None to disclose.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
