About me
I am a senior researcher (docent in neuroscience) with interest in neurogenetics related to cognitive aging and dementia, but also cognitive symptoms in psychotic diseases.
Currently looking for a PhD student (May 2023) - please contact me for more information!
Group members:
- Lovisa Larsson, Bachelor student, 2023
- Adil Supiyev, postdoc, 2020-2023
- Elise Koch, PhD-student (main supervisor), 2018-2022
- Sofia Håglin, postdoc, 2018-2020
Other:
I am also affiliated with Umeå University, department of Integrative Medical Biology.
I am a member of the Young Academy of Sweden:
https://www.sverigesungaakademi.se/ledamoter.html
Research description
I am currently working on a primary research project, funded by VR, Umeå University, and Karolinska Institutet, which focuses on the interplay between inherited risk factors and inflammatory factors in the development of cognitive impairment and dementia in aging.
Normal aging is associated with changes in the brain that cause many cognitive abilities, such as memory, to decline in most people, but there is a large degree of individual variation! While some maintain very good cognitive ability in old age, others experience more severe declines. Both individual variations within the framework of normal aging and the risk of developing dementia, or pathological aging, have a significant genetic component with a complex inheritance pattern. The project aims to identify the mechanisms through which genes act and how they interact with other factors such as gender and environmental factors.
In my research, I analyze data from the Betula project (Umeå University), where people's cognitive abilities, health, and brain structure have been followed for a long time, as well as from the Swedish Twin Registry at the Karolinska Institutet, and the international open database UK Biobank. In this project, I link genetic factors for Alzheimer's disease with results from cognitive tests, biomarkers for inflammation, and measures of brain structure and function that have been developed using functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Increased understanding of the biological processes underlying how our brains age can be used to develop better drugs and treatments.
I am also interested in psychiatric genetics and previous studies include work on the genetic relationship between schizophrenia and cognition.
Teaching portfolio
I am a teacher in physiology for Biomedical student at Umeå University
Education
PhD in physiology (on genetics, memory and brain functioning), Umeå University. 2013.
MSc in Biomedicine, Umeå University 2009.
Postdoc:
Oslo University (Prof. Ole Andreassen) 2013-2015
University of California San Diego (Prof's Anders Dale and Chi-Hua Chen) 2015-2018
Academic honours, awards and prizes
Grants from:
Swedish Research council; international postdoc grant (2015), start-up grant (2018), project grant (2022)
Karolinska Institutet; Faculty funded assistant professor (2019) and senior researcher (2023) position
Kempe foundation (2020)
Umeå University; strategic grants (2021)