Laia Montoliu-Gaya, PhD

Laia Montoliu-Gaya currently holds a position as a researcher at the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, at University of Gothenburg. The main focus of her work is the study of fluid biomarkers for prognosis and diagnosis of Alzheimer´s disease, but also as key factors to understand the pathological process and the disease progression. With the mentoring of Kaj Blennow and Henrik Zetterberg, she has developed a Mass Spectrometry method to determine the best blood tau variant as a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease pathology at different clinical stages. For this project, she was awarded with the BrightFocus Foundation Postdoctoral grant. The successful development of the proposal will be assured by Laia´s wide experience and interest in the field of neurodegenerative disorders. During her PhD, she extensively worked to improve the folding and stability properties of an anti-Aß immunotherapy, as well as established an efficient production system with a high yield. In addition, she developed a combined therapy consisting of anti-amyloid immunotherapy with apolipoproteins E and J mimetic peptides. “Thanks to the support from the BrightFocus Foundation I will be able to make the first steps to establish myself as an independent researcher and develop my skills for an academic career” – says Laia Montoliu-Gaya, PhD.