Announcements

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New preprint investigating the pathology mechanisms of Fibronectin at the blood-brain barrier is out

We are excited to share a new preprint from the Kizil Lab titled "APOEโ€‘ฮต4โ€‘induced Fibronectin at the bloodโ€‘brain barrier is a conserved pathological mediator of disrupted astrocyteโ€“endothelia interaction in Alzheimerโ€™s disease." In this study, we uncover a previously unknown mechanism by which the APOEโ€‘ฮต4 alleleโ€”one of the strongest genetic risk factors for Alzheimerโ€™s diseaseโ€”disrupts brain …

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Decoding the Heartโ€™s โ€œLittle Brainโ€

Weโ€™re proud to share our groundbreaking study published in Nature Communications. Our work sheds light on the zebrafish intracardiac nervous system (IcNS)โ€”a local neural network acting as the heartโ€™s "little brain." This was a fantastic collaborative effort between teams at Karolinska Institute and Columbia University, spearheaded by the Konstantinos Ampatzis Lab and Kizil Lab. Huge …

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Our publication received the McAlpine Foundation for Neuroscience Research Award

We are proud to announce that our recent publication where we identified a protective genetic variant in FN1 gene against Alzheimer's disease received a recognition award from McAlpine Foundation as one of the best publications in 2024. http://www.mcalpinefoundation.org/awards.php In recognition of the Vardarajan, Kizil, and Mayeux labs' innovative cross-species approach to uncover protective mechanisms against …

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Our study about ABCA7-dependent genetic risk in Alzheimer’s disease is published

We are excited to share our new study on the role of the ABCA7 gene in brain resilience against Alzheimerโ€™s. Published in Cell Genomics, we found that ABCA7 is crucial for maintaining synaptic health by regulating neuropeptide Y (NPY), a key molecule for brain communication and repair. Loss of ABCA7 reduces NPY, weakening the brain's …

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Collaborative Study on Molecular Insights into Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease Published

We are thrilled to announce our participation in a groundbreaking study in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, now published in Nature Communications. This research looks into the intricate role of blood-brain barrier disruptions in Alzheimerโ€™s disease, leveraging the remarkable capabilities of zebrafish models in combination with vast antemortem and postmortem human brain datasets. The blood-brain barrier …

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We found a genetic variant that protects against Alzheimerโ€™s disease

We discovered a genetic variant that reduces the odds of developing Alzheimerโ€™s disease by up to 70% and may be protecting hundreds of thousands of people from the disease. The discovery of the protective variant, which appears to allow toxic forms of amyloid out of the brain and through theโ€ฏblood-brain barrier, supports emerging evidence that …

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Dr. Bhattarai elected as Toffler Scholar

Congratulations to Dr. Prabesh Bhattarai, who is elected as a Toffler Scholar of The Karen Toffler Charitable Trust. "Through partnerships with leading universities, the Toffler Scholar program supports promising young medical researchers, physicians, and scientists who are at a pivotal point in their careers. Where others see risk, we see the potential for profound impact. …

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Our collaborative study identified a protective genetic variant in humans that protects against Alzheimer’s disease

We are glad to announce another preprint from our lab. We have discovered rare genetic variations in a gene associated with the extracellular matrix (ECM) that might protect against Alzheimerโ€™s disease for those at higher genetic risk, specifically individuals carrying the APOEe4 allele. The study used whole genome sequencing data from different cohorts to isolate …

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