Stanford ADRC Biomarker Core
Biomarkers have enormous value for the detection, management, and treatment of disease, but also for the development of novel therapeutics. The utility of biomarkers is most evident in the management of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but biomarkers, especially predictive, easily obtainable ones, are still largely absent with respect to neurodegenerative diseases. The best fluid biomarkers currently available for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) include; Aβ, tau, and neurofilament in CSF, a biofluid which is difficult to collect in healthy, at-risk populations or on a repeated basis. Other biomarkers for AD include imaging modalities which are often very expensive or have low sensitivity and specificity at the individual level. The members of this core have considerable experience in objective multi-omic screens and data analysis and, over the years, have published numerous studies towards developing new biomarkers for neurodegenerative and other diseases. Enabled by the current ADRC, the core leaders and collaborators have used biospecimens from Stanford ADRC participants and generated extensive preliminary data with objective deep immune phenotyping, proteomics, and transcriptomics of human CSF resident cells, and discovered novel Parkinson’s disease (PD) biomarkers.
Based on this expertise, the mission of this Biomarker Core is to facilitate the discovery of novel biomarkers for AD and PD, as well as new biology underlying the pathological processes that lead to dementia in line with the core mission of the NAPA. This will be achieved by pursuing the collection of genetic and molecular measurements from a broad source of tissues from ADRC participants; the processing and dissemination of this information in useable formats through web portals and other means (i.e., “Deep Phenotyping Database”); the analysis and bioinformatics integration of the collected information with clinical and imaging data, as well as information from public databases; and the development and dissemination of new data analysis algorithms and pipelines.
Michael Greicius, MD, MPH
Iqbal Farrukh and Asad Jamal Professor of Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Biomarker Core Leader
Dr. Greicius is the Iqbal Farrukh and Asad Jamal Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He attended medical school at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, did his neurology residency at the Harvard Partners program, and completed a behavioral neurology fellowship at UCSF. He first came to Stanford in 2000 as a postdoctoral fellow and joined the faculty in 2007. Dr. Greicius is former director of the Stanford Center for Memory Disorders and leads a research team studying the genetics of Alzheimer’s disease. Current efforts in the Greicius lab are focused on identifying novel genetic variants in two groups of subjects: healthy older people carrying the high risk APOE4 genetic variant and early age-at-onset Alzheimer’s patients who do not carry the high risk APOE4 genetic variant. The goal is to identify rare but powerful genetic mutations that either protect against or cause Alzheimer’s disease, respectively in these two groups. These genetic variants will then be characterized in detail to understand how they impact disease risk and how their related molecular pathways can be targeted for novel drug development.
Katrin Andreasson, MD
Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences
Biomarker Core Associate Leader
Dr. Andreasson is Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, and is a neurologist who treats patients with dementia and who is also engaged in basic research in neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Andreasson received her M.D. degree at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, completed her residency in Neurology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and carried out her postdoctoral training in the Johns Hopkins Department of Neuroscience, where she began her research studies on the function of brain inflammation in development of neurodegenerative disease. The objectives of her laboratory research are to identify specific inflammatory pathways that may be targeted to prevent and treat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Tony Wyss-Coray, PhD
D.H. Chen Professor II of Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Biomarker Associate Core Leader
The Wyss-Coray laboratory seeks to understand how immune responses and systemic aging affect the brain and may contribute to neurodegeneration and Alzheimer’s disease. Over the past few years the lab has been particularly intrigued by the observation that brain aging can be altered by changes in the systemic environment and we have shown that blood-derived factors are sufficient to modulate brain physiology at the molecular, cellular, and functional level. We have developed focused proteomic tools to measure hundreds of secreted signaling proteins with the goal to identify key factors involved in brain aging and neurodegeneration.
Euan Ashley, MD, PhD
Geneticist and Biomarker Core Associate Core Leader
Dr. Ashley graduated with first class Honors in Physiology and Medicine from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He completed medical residency and a PhD (DPhil) at the University of Oxford before moving to Stanford University in California where he studied genetics, data science, and completed subspecialty training in cardiovascular medicine. Dr Ashley is currently Chair of the Department of Medicine, Stanford's largest department with 15 divisions and over 800 faculty. Dr Ashley’s research is focused on the science of precision medicine. In 2010, he led the team that carried out the first clinical interpretation of a human genome. Over the following years, his team-built tools to analyze the genomes of the first patient family sequenced, completed the first whole genome molecular autopsy, made the first genetic diagnosis using long read sequencing, and helped establish genome sequencing as a routine part of the care of patients worldwide. In 2022, he led a collaborative team to set a Guinness World Record for the speed of sequencing a human genome, completing the variant calling in five hours and making genetic diagnoses in critically ill patients in just over seven hours — less than half the time of the previous record. More recently, his team works on artificial intelligence across multiple scales: Generative protein and DNA models direct design of novel genetic therapies; cellular morphology models define cellular phenotypes; multimodal models augment physician decision making in the clinic; generative models individualize behavioral health interventions for physical activity at population scale.
Edward N. Wilson, PhD
Instructor, Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Dr. Wilson received his PhD degree in neuroscience from McGill University. His research focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, and he has particular interests in identifying new pathways for therapeutic targeting and the development of precision biomarkers. His recent work involves translating preclinical findings on mechanisms of immune system activation into biomarker tools for use in clinical research. Dr. Wilson is responsible for implementing Biomarker Core Alzheimer’s disease biomarker measurements as well as the development of novel biofluid biomarkers of neurodegeneration.
Divya Channappa, MS
ADRC Biomarker Core Project Coordinator
Divya Channappa received her BS degree in industrial biotechnology from Anna University (India) and her MS degree in molecular microbiology and immunology from the University of Southern California. Before coming to Stanford, she was a research associate at the Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope in Duarte, California. Within the Stanford ADRC, she processes blood and spinal fluid samples; inventories, stores, and distributes brain tissues and other biological specimens; and assists researchers with laboratory procedures requiring expertise in techniques of molecular biology.
Amal Al-Rajhi
Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator
Amal received her B.S. in Biology at The University of Florida (UF) in 2023. Through the Semester of Immersion Program at UF, she contributed to a published research paper looking at how C. elegans extracellular signaling reacted to stress responses. She has also conducted field and lab research on the effects In2Care mosquito traps had at low densities with the E. Martin Lab at UF. Additionally, she worked as a nursing assistant at Shands Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Oncology/Hematology unit, accruing patient care hours for PA school. Amal is excited to bring her passion for research and medicine to Stanford.
Keerthana Raghuraman
Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator
Keerthana completed her B.S. in Neuroscience at The University of Texas at Austin with a Certificate in Forensic Science. While at UT Austin, she got her initial foray into research on Animal Behavior. She continued her research experience in an animal behavior lab on integration of social and energetic cues that promote vocalization in the Alston’s singing mice, thus gaining valuable experience contributing to a research paper. Her passion to learn and expand her knowledge led to her current position at Stanford. She is excited to work with the best minds and learn from them.