Sophia Schedin Weiss

About me

I am a Docent (Associate Professor) in medical biochemistry and have throughout my scientific career sought after biochemical and cellular pathways that are dysregulated and causative in human neurological and age-related diseases. Initially, as a PhD student, I investigated how biosynthesis and transport of lipids are affected in the neurological disorder Niemann-Pick type C disease, which displays a number of pathogenic pathways similar to those found in AD. These first studies in my career were published under my premarital name Sophia Schedin.

I have further studied protein biochemistry and molecular interactions involved in the regulation of thrombosis, where I developed my expertise in proteolytic pathways, including the protein C pathway and the blood coagulation cascade.

I devoted the past ten years of my career to study molecular mechanisms behind, and biomarkers involved in, AD.

Research description

I am dedicated to study the molecular mechanisms behind and find biomarkers for Alzheimer disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. I have studied novel molecular interactions important for the regulation of gamma-secretase, the last one of two enzymes that process the amyloid precursor protein (APP) to generate the amyloid β-peptide (Aβ), which is known as a toxic agent in AD, and the component of amyloid plaques in the brains of AD patients. One of my main interests is to study the subcellular localization of the Aβ processing machinery in neurons. To this end I have set up super-resolution microscopy techniques and master and teach in the techniques stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy and stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM). By using these techniques we have determined the synaptic localization of gamma-secretase and Aβ in neurons at the nano-scale level.

I also have a great interest in studying the roles of glycans in neurodegenerative diseases. We have in our research group shown that asparagine-linked glycans have altered structural pattern in cerebrospinal fluid and brain in AD and believe that understanding these alterations are important for new diagnotics and treatment strategies.