Saskia van der Vies: how misfolded proteins cause dementia
‘Our research on the process of protein folding has made us realise that this sophisticated process often fails. Interestingly, the misfolding of proteins is observed in many neurodegenerative diseases.’
Saskia van der Vies is Professor of Biochemistry at the VUmc Department of Pathology. Her group investigates the role protein (mis)folding plays in several brain diseases by studying protein folding from a neuropathological perspective. Well-known examples of diseases van der Vies and her colleagues compare are Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
‘We are particularly interested in what happens in the early stages of the disease, when clinical symptoms may not be visible, but the pathological process has already initiated. Our knowledge of protein (mis)folding adds particular value.’ The group uses protein micro-arrays and proteomics for the protein mapping and profiling of well-characterised brain material.
One of the aims is to develop a diagnostic assay for Alzheimer’s disease. ‘It would be great if one day we would have a microchip that can distinguish Alzheimer’s disease from other forms of dementia.’ A second part of the research focuses on obtaining knowledge of the biological mechanism of Alzheimer’s and the identification of new proteins that play an essential role in the development of the disease.
To other members of the Neuroscience Campus, van der Vies wants to present her group as the specialists in mapping disease-related proteins. ‘Often, biomedical scientists work with model systems such as mice or cell lines and they forget about the human pathology. In the end it is all about understanding what goes on, and what goes wrong in the human brain. I like to invite people who do not think about human neuropathology to drop by and talk to us.
The Neuroscience Campus makes it possible to start new collaborations. ‘Currently, we initiate most of our collaborations at international conferences. The Neuroscience Campus is like a multidisciplinary conference with your own neighbours.' Van der Vies hopes that the Neuroscience Campus will facilitate the development of novel research programmes in which the different expertise is brought together to perform innovative translational research. ‘This possibility is exciting. Innovative research programs will need alot of a lot of scientific brainstorming, but with so many good scientists on little more than a square kilometre, I think it is possible.’
