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Researchers on the NAB3 project, which is supported by JPND, are working toward more precise in vitro models of the blood-brain barrier under Alzheimer’s conditions   A lack of representative models One of the major challenges in the development of new…

World Young Leaders in Dementia (WYLD), a network for emerging leaders in the field, grew out of the legacy meetings that followed the 2013 G8 (now G7) dementia summit: Together with JPND, the UK Science & Innovation Network identified young…

Dr. Brit Mollenhauer of Paracelsus-Elena-Klinik was a researcher in BIOMARKAPD, a JPND project on biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease that ran from 2012-2015. In an interview with JPND, she reflects on the project and discusses the importance of…

“JPND is a clear window of opportunity to participate in an exercise to do global research to address neurodegeneration. Of course, it is up to the participating countries to shape this issue in a better fashion. We are now jumping…

Researchers from across Europe team up to decode the interplay between genetics and environment For scientists studying the origins and pathways of Alzheimer’s disease, experimental animal and cell models are a critical tool. These models mimic the processes thought to…

By analyzing brainstem tissue and testing their findings in ongoing aging cohorts, EPI-AD, a JPND-supported project run by a young PI from the Netherlands, aims to uncover the stress-related epigenetic mechanisms linked to Alzheimer’s disease. A few years ago, Daniel van…

“I would be a bit sad if JPND only focused on projects with 3-5 countries involved. In these projects the researchers continue in the same way as they did before, and they do not experience these cultural influences from different…

“The challenge is global, so the action must be global – yours and mine!” What is the general perception of JPND in Slovenia? Of the many initiatives of which I am aware, JPND is probably the most well-perceived and, from…

Prof. Gunhild Waldemar of Rigshospitalet and Copenhagen University participated in BIOMARKAPD, a JPND project on biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease that ran from 2012-2015. She spoke with JPND about the importance of biomarkers for research into neurodegenerative diseases,…

Dr. Charlotte Teunissen of the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam was a work package leader for BIOMARKAPD, a JPND project on biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease that ran from 2012-2015. In an interview with JPND, she reflects…

“Engage now and fully, because JPND is addressing the challenges of your society, which are growing exponentially! And it is even providing some solutions already!” What do you think is the main benefit for your country in participating in JPND?…

Professor Judes Poirier of McGill University and the Douglas Institute in Montreal, Canada, was a participant in BIOMARKAPD, a JPND project on biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease that ran from 2012-2015. In an interview with JPND, he expounds…

“JPND is a unique European and global platform that has seen remarkable development over the last five years. First, it fills the gaps between policymakers, researchers, practitioners and patients. But even more importantly, it is assuming a primacy in the…

“Behavioural problems are the key issues for people with dementia and for carers, and we have to focus on how we can improve the situation for them. I am also interested in the plasticity of the brain and how we…

“From my own perspective, participating in JPND projects has been a very good experience. You meet different people from different disciplines, you learn how to do things differently, you get different perspectives on things, and I think that enriches the…

“We need to get the best value we can from existing resources and we can do that by doing really good quality research. I think JPND is contributing by trying to meet the big economic challenge, as well as the…

“JPND is a global initiative that is likely to provide breakthrough knowledge about dementia causes, mechanisms, treatment and care. It both stimulates and adds value to national funded research in the area. The more countries that join JPND, the stronger…

“Research is all about increasing quality of life and cannot happen without public participation.” “Never be afraid to ask questions, even though we, as scientists, don’t have all the answers.” “Take care of your brain by embracing a lifestyle that…

In your opinion, what is the single biggest challenge for researchers investigating neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s? I feel that a big challenge if not the biggest challenge for researchers investigating neurodegenerative disorders is the difficulty of disease definition…

Why do you think there has been so little progress, if any, in developing a drug that can slow the progression of neurodegenerative disorders? A major problem remains the preclinical to clinical translation. For some of the drugs that have…

In your opinion, what is the single biggest challenge for researchers investigating neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s? To identify the pathological mechanisms that are causally linked to the onset and progression of neurodegenerative disorders and to identify dynamic biomarkers…

You have been studying Parkinson’s for over 20 years. What is your working hypothesis of what causes this disease? The past 20 years have seen remarkable progress in our understanding of the causes of Parkinson’s disease. This progress has mostly…

In your opinion, what is the single biggest challenge for researchers investigating neurodegenerative disorders? Parkinson’s disease is complex but we’re learning a lot about its possible causes and underlying biology and this, in turn, is feeding a robust therapeutic pipeline.…

  JPND Scientific Advisory Board Member (2013-2014) – representative of GE Healthcare  It is widely acknowledged that we need new diagnostic solutions to identify Alzheimer’s patients, in particular those in the early stages of the disease.  You are in charge…