Pint of Science Wednesday Göteborg

Alzheimer’s disease has long been difficult to diagnose early. But new breakthroughs suggest that a simple blood test could change everything. In this talk, we explore how these tests work, how accurate they are, and their applications.

Biography:
With a diverse background in dementia research—ranging from developing anti-amyloid immunotherapies during my doctoral studies to investigating synaptic connectivity during my first postdoctoral tenure—my work has encompassed multiple facets of neurodegenerative disease. My leadership in the field is also demonstrated by securing substantial independent funding from different national and international bodies, being a mentor for two PhD students and a postdoc, and receiving recognition through awards, including the prestigious Queen Silvia Prize for Young Alzheimer’s Researcher.

We humans live our lives surrounded by immense numbers of microbes and especially different bacteria live on and in us even when we are healthy. The oral cavity provides everything that bacteria need to flourish - it’s moist, full of nutrients and keeps a stable temperature of 37 degrees C. Even in health, the mouth is home to hundreds of different bacterial species, and a single drop of saliva contains hundreds of millions of bacterial cells.
My talk will discuss where and how these bacteria live and focus on how our bodies have evolved systems to cope with these co-inhabitants without succumbing to diseases. I will especially elaborate on the two most common oral diseases in humans, dental caries and periodontitis (tooth-loss), but likely also touch on less clinically important problems such as foul breath. I will also discuss if and how toothbrushing (and additional oral hygiene measures), something we clearly have not evolved to do, affects the balanced interplay between us and our microbes.

Biography:
I am a biologist pursuing basic research questions surrounded by clinicians (mostly dentists). My research background is in immunology, specializing in white blood cells that seek out invading microbes to engulf and kill them to prevent infection.