Specialization
Focus of research
My research focuses on the development and interpretation of biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly plasma markers for Alzheimer's disease, with the objective to translate these markers into clinical practice to improve patient diagnosis, prognostication, and monitoring.
My past projects focused on the development and validation of novel laboratory assays for neurological biomarkers in plasma, one of which was later developed into a commercial assay (Neurology 4-plex E assay, Quanterix).
In my current projects, I advance the methodological framework for interpreting biomarker results across the currently key AD plasma biomarkers (pTau, Abeta42/40, GFAP, NfL). I approach this from two complementary perspectives. From a data-analysis perspective, I investigate how to best use and interpret multi-marker test results in heterogeneous clinical populations for accurate and individualized diagnosis and prognosis. Going from group level statistics to individual utility is essential when aiming for clinical implementation. From a laboratory medicine perspective, I examine how analytical, pre-analytical and biological variation affect biomarker levels, both from a single-protein and a proteomics viewpoint, and how we can mitigate or leverage such sources of variability. This includes the evaluation of alternative blood sampling approaches and alternative platforms to improve the accessibility and robustness of plasma biomarker testing.
These projects demonstrate that there remains a clear gap in the accurate diagnosis and prognostication of Alzheimer's disease progression, particularly in the preclinical, asymptomatic stage, which cannot be resolved with the current key AD plasma biomarkers, even with the methodological advances in their interpretation. Given that the current key AD plasma biomarkers reflect amyloid and tau pathology, neurodegeneration and astrocytosis, but not synaptic integrity, which is the key driver of cognitive decline, my research is now shifting towards developing novel plasma biomarkers for synaptopathy and exploring its additive value to our multi-marker test for individualized prognosis.