Michael Schöll Group
Short description
Michael Schöll, PhD, is a Professor in molecular medicine with focus on neuroimaging and a member of the Young Academy of Sweden.
About Michael Schöll group
Neurodegenerative diseases are notoriously difficult to diagnose early and there is still no cure available for dementia disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Biomarkers derived from imaging modalities such as positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as biomarkers based on the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood, have become immensely important especially for the early identification of individuals who are likely to develop a neurodegenerative disorder, since an established notion is that potentially successful treatments should be deployed as early as possible in the disease process.
This early identification of neuropathological processes using adequate biomarkers currently not only supports reliable clinical diagnoses but also serves the recruitment of suitable candidates for clinical treatment trials, and renders possible the application of these biomarkers as outcome measures in treatment trials.
In particular the recent development of methods to map the accumulation of conformationally faulty forms of proteins and the subsequent synaptic impairment in vivo using PET has profoundly changed the way these processes can be identified at an early, presymptomatic disease stage. The Schöll group is using the most recent developments in molecular imaging by means of PET in combination with other neuroimaging- and fluid-based biomarkers, as well as neuropsychological profiling to develop holistic, validated, and usable tools for such an early identification.
Collaborations
The establishment of the Schöll group was strongly coupled with the recent inauguration of the Imaging- and Intervention Center (Bild- och Interventionscentrum – BoIC) at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, which for the first time offers resources for research involving molecular imaging modalities in West Sweden.
The group has furthermore established extensive national collaborations with researchers and clinicians at the University of Gothenburg / The Sahlgrenska University Hospital, and with researchers at Lund University, the Karolinska Institute, and Umeå University. Internationally, the group collaborates actively, amongst others, with researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, University College London, Stanford University, and McGill University
Contact Information
Michael Schöll
michael.scholl@neuro.gu.se
Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry
Sahlgrenska University Hospital
Blå stråket 15, 3rd floor
Gothenburg, Sweden
Visiting Addresses:
Sahlgrenska University Hospital
Memory Clinic
Wallinsgatan 6
431 41 Mölndal
The Real AD study is a longitudinal study that aims to advance early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease with a simple blood test and lay the logistical groundwork for widespread use of AD biomarkers in primary care. The study seeks participants aged 50 to 80 in Västra Götaland, encouraging individuals to sign up or share the opportunity.
To begin, the participants complete mandatory health questionnaires and optimal dementia-related questionnaires digitally via the HOPE study platform. Second, they undertake cognitive assessments using the "neotivTrials" app or Cognitron website. Finally, participants make an appointment for a blood test at one of VGR Närhälsan's 106 health centres, which will be analysed with an exhaustive panel of markers in Blennow's lab at the University of Gothenburg. All participants will be invited back 18 months later for another round of remote testing and blood biomarker measurement, followed by cognitive testing alone at 27 and 36 months. To validate the blood tests, select participants will also undergo CSF or PET testing.
The study is set to launch on April 22, 2024. Until then, please stay tuned and spread the word!
Real AD Kick-off
Over 50 people gathered at Sahlgrenska Academy to celebrate the start of our new research study, REAL AD, with the vision to find Alzheimer's disease (AD) sooner! The study will look into a realistic screening approach for preclinical AD using blood-based biomarkers and remote cognitive testing, with West Sweden serving as a model region. We look forward to celebrating more future milestones together!
For more information, please visit: https://www.realad.se/
“Old Servants” Symposium at the Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet
Michael was invited to speak about the challenges of implementing new immunotherapies in the "Alzheimer world" on January 18-19, 2024! The meeting was opened by Her Majesty Queen Silvia. He gave a talk on the clinical implementation of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers and participated in a panel discussion with distinguished scientists such as Philip Scheltens, Miia Kivipelto, Sebastian Palmqvist, and Anders Wimo on the readiness of primary care and memory clinics.
First visit to Korea as a National Korean BrainPool Fellow
Michael visited Korea as a BrainPool Fellow from December 3 to 13, 2023. During his visit, he shared his expertise on the clinical implementation of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers at Yonsei University, the Institute of Basic Science at Incheon and Siemens Medical Centre.
Michael was recently recruited to the South Korean Brain Pool program, where he will collaborate with his host, Professor Justin Lee, who heads the Center for Cognition and Sociality at the Institute of Basic Science (IBS), to validate advanced imaging techniques to enhance our understanding of synaptic integrity in neurodegenerative diseases.
A 10-day scientific visit to China
Michael, along with colleagues Kaj Blennow and Nicolai Franzmeier, were invited to share their expertise on biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. During their visit to China from October 6 to 15, 2023, Michael spoke at Fudan University in Shanghai, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, and the Sino-German Meeting for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Hainan about the clinical applications of imaging and non-imaging biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease.
The International Congress on Neurodegenerative Diseases in Malaga
The scientific congress which seeks to bridge society with research advancements in combating neurodegenerative diseases, was held on September 19-22, to coincide and celebrate International Alzheimer’s Disease Day. Michael was invited as a speaker and delivered a presentation titled "Bridging the gap - bringing (blood-based) biomarkers into the clinic", and Michel chaired the “New ways of imaging dementia in the era of disease-modifying drugs” session. They also had the opportunity to meet H.M. Queen Sofía, who presided over the congress.
Michael promoted to Full Professor
We are extremely proud to announce that Michael got promoted to Full Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Univerisity of Gothenburg.
Michel Grothe, PhD
Michel Grothe is a senior researcher at the Movement Disorders Group of the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS), Spain, who is specialized in multimodal PET/MRI neuroimaging techniques for studying neurodegenerative disease pathology in-vivo. He joined the Schöll group in 2019 as a senior research associate to supervise research projects focused on novel analytic techniques for studying cortical pathologic patterns in multimodal imaging data, with a particular focus on the integration of regional information form amyloid- and tau-sensitive PET scans.
Nicolai Franzmeier, PhD
E-mail
Nicolai Franzmeier is a Junior Research Group Leader at the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research at the LMU University Hospital in Munich. His research uses multimodal PET and MRI-based neuroimaging to develop mechanistic models of Alzheimer’s disease progression, with a particular focus on tau pathology. He joined the Schöll group as a Senior Research Associate in 2022 to co-supervise research projects on tau-PET and fluid biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease.
Alexis Moscoso Rial, PhD
Alexis Moscoso is a Senior Researcher at the Molecular Neuroimaging laboratory led by Michael Schöll. He joined Michael Schöll’s lab in 2020 as a post-doctoral fellow. His research has a strong focus on neuroimaging biomarkers, as well as fluid biomarkers, for the diagnosis and prediction of Alzheimer’s disease. His primary objective is to continue conducting biomarker research that is useful and applicable in Alzheimer’s disease therapeutic trials and clinical practice.
Antoine Leuzy, PhD
Antoine Leuzy joined the Molecular Neuroimaging laboratory as a Senior Researcher in 2024. His research focuses on the development and application of molecular imaging techniques for Alzheimer's disease. As a member of the group, his research will focus on imaging biomarkers and oversight of the recently launched REAL AD (Validation of a realistic screening approach for early Alzheimer's disease) Study.
Meera Srikrishna, PhD
After successfully completing her PhD under the guidance of Dr. Michael Schöll, Meera continues to be part of the group as a postdoctoral researcher. Her research combines the application of image analysis and deep learning in the automated quantification of neurodegeneration. Currently, she is studying deep-learning-based techniques to derive biomarkers from neuroimaging modalities, especially computed tomography (CT). She works with a team of expert researchers, clinicians and other engineers on the clinical validation of AI-based diagnostic support solutions in brain atrophy assessment. She pursued her Masters degree in biomedical engineering and worked for the National Brain Research Centre, India between in 2015-17.
Miguel A. Labrador-Espinosa, PhD
Miguel A. Labrador-Espinosa is a postdoctoral researcher at the Molecular Neuroimaging Laboratory led by Michael Schöll. He has a strong background in biomedical engineering and neuroscience and specialises in the use of advanced multimodal PET/MRI neuroimaging techniques for the in vivo study of neurodegenerative diseases. His research focuses on the investigation of multimodal neuroimaging-based biomarkers involved in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease that allow the early detection and quantification of the pathophysiological neurodegenerative mechanisms occurring in patients.
Vidya Somashekarappa, PhD
Vidya is an upcoming Post doctoral researcher at the Molecular Neuroimaging laboratory led by Michael Schöll. Her research will focus on developing state-of-the-art deep learning techniques for imaging within the context of neurodegenerative diseases in collaboration with Meera. Vidya has a doctorate in Computational Linguistics where she mainly worked with computer vision, natural language processing and human-robot interaction at CLASP, University of Gothenburg. She has experience in object detection, gaze recognition and tracking. She holds a master's degree in Cognitive Neuroscience where she worked on projects that leveraged transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), fMRI and tDCS to study linguistic representation of the brain that could aid in therapeutic interventions for patients with aphasia.
Fredrik Öhman
Fredrik Öhman is a PhD student in Michael Schöll's research group and the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy. Fredrik will use neuropsychology, neuroimaging and neurochemical biomarkers to validate newly developed methods for detecting cognitive impairment in early stage dementia disorders.
Besides Fredrik’s research work, he is a clinical psychologist at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital memory clinic.
Frida Lenér
Frida Lenér is a licensed pharmacist who works as a research coordinator at the Centre for REDI primary health care Fyrbodal, region västra Götaland (VGR).
She is part of the VGR project management team for REAL AD and will also join Michael Schöll's research group and the institute of Neuroscience and physiology for PhD studies in the second semester 2024.
Iris Bosch, MSc
Iris is working as a project leader for the Real AD study. She has a research master’s degree in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the University of Amsterdam and is particularly interested in the application of AD biomarker findings to clinical practice, as well as connecting science to society.
She graduated with a joint project from the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam and the Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine (Amsterdam UMC), where she investigated the predictive value of tau PET and relative cerebral blood flow for atrophy in Alzheimer’s disease.
Kajsa Quitz
Kajsa Quitz is a business developer at Närhälsan, where she has worked for over a decade. Kajsa is the project leader at REAL-AD Närhälsan. She together with ”labbråd” organise logistics to ensure all the Närhälsans health care centers are able to take the blood samples for the study.
Maria Dottori
Maria Dottori works as a research coordinator at Region Västra Götaland (VGR), Research, Education, Development & Innovation (REDI), Primary Health Care, Sweden. She is a licensed physiotherapist with extensive experience of clinical research within larger regional and national research studies in healthcare since 2011.
Maria is part of the VGR project management team for the REAL AD study.
Eva Bringman
Eva Bringman is a registered nurse with long experience of clinical research in both healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. She has been working as research coordinator in the field of dementia research at the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology for several years. Joined the Schöll group January 2018.
Johan Rung, PhD
E-mail
Johan Rung has a background in neuropharmacology, with a focus on aspects of dopaminergic signalling. He obtained his PhD from the University of Gothenburg, studying dopaminergic stabilizers for the treatment of schizophrenia. He continued his research in a local spin-off company and as a postdoctoral researcher at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon, USA. After returning to Gothenburg, he continued to pursue a career in research administration and joined the lab as a Research Coordinator.
Prithvi Arunachalam, MMedSc, MSc
Prithvi is a recent graduate of the Erasmus+ International Master in Innovative Medicine (IMIM) program and an International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART) Ambassador. His research interests include precision medicine and biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. Prithvi joined the Michael Scholl's group for his master's thesis, where he studied the temporal course of CSF GAP43 in relation to amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease. He has since continued in the group as a Research Associate, contributing to multiple research projects while expanding his responsibilities to imaging and biomarker database and cluster management.
Stamatia Karagianni
Stamatia Karagianni is a final year student in the research master program of Cognitive Neuropsychology at Vrije University Amsterdam. She joined Michael Schöll’s research group to write her master thesis, under the supervision of Alexis Moscoso Rial and Michael Schöll. Her project aims to compare different imaging techniques to better predict clinical progression. Before that, she worked as a research intern at the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam on the association of blood biomarkers and cognitive performance in centenarians (Dutch 100+ study). Stamatia holds a Psychology degree from the University of Athens.
Anniina Snellman, PhD
E-mail
Anniina Snellman is a postdoctoral researcher working with molecular neuroimaging and fluid biomarker development for neurodegenerative diseases. She obtained her PhD from the University of Turku (Finland), where her work at the Preclinical Imaging Laboratory of Turku PET Centre was focused on PET tracer development and validation using microPET and mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. Anniina currently holds an Academy of Finland postdoctoral fellowship and works jointly at the Neurochemistry Laboratory of the University of Gothenburg and Neurological Research Group at Turku PET Centre.
Oleksiy Itsenko, PhD
Oleksiy is principal radiochemist and QP at the Sahlgrenska PET radiopharmacy. Among his key interests are fast labelling reactions and process development. Oleksiy received his PhD in 11C radiochemistry working in the research group of professor Bengt Långström. His experience includes the production of PET tracers for preclinical and clinical use as well as industrial product prototyping.
AD/PD 2024 - 5-9 March, 2024
The International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases and Related Neurological Disorders (AD/PD) was held this year in Lisbon, Portugal. Michael, Alexis, Meera, Miguel and Prithvi represented the group and engaged in stimulating scientific discussions pertaining to advances in disease mechanisms, prevention, and therapy.
Julbord aka Christmas dinner - December 13, 2023
All the group members came together for a festive feast of joy, laughter, and delectable delights that captures the spirit of the season.
Swedish NeuroPET symposium - October 2-3, 2023
This year’s NeuroPET meeting was organized in Lund, Sweden. NeuroPET is an annual meeting where PET researchers from all over Sweden gather to present and discuss their research and potential collaborations. Alexis and Fiona who attended the meeting had two inspiring days with their presentations attracting a lot of interest.
AAIC 2023 – July 16-20, 2023
This year’s edition of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) took place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We were thrilled to be able to attend the conference and come together with researchers from all over the world to advance dementia science.
Our lab was also invited to share our latest work through oral and poster presentations during the main conference, as well as the Alzheimer’s Imaging Consortium (AIC) pre-conference.
During the conference, Michel also got awarded with a "de Leon Prize in Neuroimaging". This award recognizes scientists for publishing “best papers” in the field of neuroimaging of neurodegenerative processes.
Lab retreat 2023 – May 30-31, 2023
For this year’s lab retreat, we traveled to Gullmarsstrand, a conference hotel right on the Swedish west coast. We also had the pleasure of hosting distinguished external collaborators, Dr. Nico Franzmeier, Dr. Anna Dewenter, and Anna Steward from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (Munich), and Dr. Michel Grothe, Dr. Jesús Silva Rodríguez, and Miguel Labrador-Espinosa from Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS, Spain).
The retreat had a strong focus on identifying new research projects and collaborations between all three research groups attending the retreat: the Neuroimaging section of the Movement Disorders Group at IBiS led by Michel Grothe, The Franzmeier lab led by Nico Franzmeier, and our research group led by Michael Schöll.
Altogether we had great sessions where we got to learn more about each other's expertise, presented existing datasets within each group, and formulated new collaborations. The rest of the retreat was filled with team-building games, socializing over delicious meals, and one of Sweden’s most beloved ways to relax – visiting a spa. We had two wonderful days!
6th Workshop on Biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases - May 15-19, 2023
This year's edition of the Biomarker course (UCL/UGOT) was hosted by, and organized in collaboration with, the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center. The course is a unique opportunity to delve into biomarkers and explore new frontiers of research, and was attended by 60 doctoral students from 11 different countries.
Click here to watch a Catalan news item about the biomarker course, including an interview with Michael.
AD/PD 2023 - March 28-April 1, 2023
This year’s edition of the International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases and related neurological disorders (AD/PD) was held in our home town, Gothenburg. It was a great pleasure to welcome fellow researchers from around the world to Gothenburg, to discuss latest findings and to strengthen current, as well as establish new collaborations.
All in all, it was a very interesting, inspiring, and fun AD/PD edition! "Välkommen åter".
WCMTM Yearly Event - March 21, 2023
On the 21st of March, our lab attended the Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine (WCMTM) yearly event. Different WCMTM researchers presented their work and, with the theme of this years event being 'knitting networks for life science', examples and views on good collaborations within life sciences were shared. Michael also presented our latest study called 'REAL-AD', investigating a realistic screening approach for preclinical Alzheimer's disease. All in all, it was a day filled with interesting talks and inspiring network opportunities!
NeuroPET meeting 2022 – 4-5 October, 2022
At the beginning of October, our research group traveled to Stockholm to attended NeuroPET 2022, the annual meeting for neuroPET research in Sweden. It was a great pleasure to come together with fellow researchers from all over Sweden, representing the Universities of Gothenburg, Linköping, Lund, Stockholm, Umeå and Uppsala.
Over the course of two days, we discussed latest findings, current work and future goals. We had a great time together and are looking forward to what the future will hold for neuroPET research in Sweden!
The Wallenberg Centre yearly kick-off – 19-20 September, 2022
Being part of The Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine (WCMTM), our research group got invited to the yearly kick-off event. The event took place at Aspenäs Herrgård and here we got together with all other WCMTM research groups to connect and establish potential collaborations. We had a great time meeting everyone.
Highlights of previous years
2022 - Lab retreat 2022
For this year’s lab retreat, we traveled to Falkenberg Strandbad, a spa hotel on the Swedish west coast. All lab members and external guests presented their research interests, current work, as well as future plans. Altogether it was a great session to get to know each other better, spark ideas for future research and identify potential collaborations.
The second day was all about mission and vision. During the first part, we talked about what we do as a group, our mission, and what we are striving to achieve. It turned out to be a very meaningful and inspiring conversation and we re-defined the group’s mission and vision. During the second part we zoomed in on our personal profiles and visions and how these could be aligned in a two-way manner with the mission and vision of the group. The retreat was concluded with a team-building game and lunch. We had two wonderful days!
Other group activities this year: Charity run for the Swedish Brain Foundation, AD/PD 2022, summer barbecue, AAIC 2022, the Wallenberg Centre yearly kick-off, NeuroPET meeting 2022 in Stockholm, and our yearly Christmas dinner.
2021 - Summer barbecue
After a long year of working from home, the research group finally had a chance to get together to celebrate this year’s accomplishments with some burgers and beers. The sun was shining, we had a great time, and are now ready to face the rest of the year with renewed energy!
Other group activities this year: Lab dinner, NeuroPET meeting in Umeå, Christmas dinner and PhD course "Biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases" organized in collaboration with UCL Dementia Research Centre.
2020 - Christmas Dinner
Every year just before the Christmas holidays, our team enjoys a Julbord, a typical Swedish Christmas buffet. This year the traditional Molecular Neuroimaging Julbord was held virtually.
2019 - Molecular Neuroimaging Lab Retreat
Our annual lab retreat was facilitated at Marstrands Havshotell on the 25th-26th of November. We had the pleasure of hosting distinguished external collaborators from universities and research institutions around the world. Our guest list included Dr. David Berron from University of Lund, Sweden, Dr. Andréa Lessa Benedet from McGill Univeristy, Canada, Alexis Moscoso from University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, as well as Dr. Anne Maass and Dr. Michel Grothe from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE).
Other group activities this year: Christmas dinner at Chalmersska Huset
Dissertations
Meera Shrikrishna, 2022
Deriving biomarkers from computed tomography using deep learning
Antoinette O'Connor, 2021
Familial Alzheimer’s disease: preclinical disease and pathophysiology biomarkers
Axel Tjörnstrand, 2020
Pituitary tumors - epidemiology and the diagnostic value of 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT
Jennifer Alvén, 2020
Combining Shape and Learning for Medical Image Analysis-Robust, Scalable and Generalizable Registration and Segmentation
For a full list of Michael Schöll’s publications, please refer to Google Scholar:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hEHgZxMAAAAJ&hl=de
