Johanna Mayer

Can recycling garbage combat Alzheimer’s disease?

I have just finished my PhD at Karolinska Institutet in Alzheimer’s disease research. I am from Germany and have a Master’s degree in Biochemistry. In my research, I am trying to understand what is happening inside cells by performing experiments in the lab.

Last year, I presented my research project in the competition ”Forskar Grand Prix” so here is a sneak peak into my research. Imagine a world where your trash keeps piling up, and there’s no efficient way to get rid of it. That’s what happens in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients.

Alzheimer’s is a devastating condition affecting over 30 million people worldwide, with no cure in sight. Alzheimer’s patients’ brains are filled with amyloid plaques, like massive garbage piles. Making things even worse, the cellular waste management system that is supposed to take care of that garbage is not working. In my research, I want to better understand the relationship between the recycling system of our brain cells and a protein responsible for amyloid plaques. To tackle this problem, we use microscopy to look inside cells.

Praktisk information

I understand and speak a bit of Swedish, but feel more comfortable to present in English or German.

Om besöket är på plats kan jag komma till

Stockholm

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Karolinska Institutet

Neurobiologi, vårdvetenskap och samhälle

Läs mer om min forskning

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