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Ariadna Laguna Tuset

I am a neuroscientist with extensive experience in the molecular mechanisms underlying both neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases of the nervous system. My current research is aimed at identifying new therapeutic targets and biomarkers to improve the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Institutions of which they are part

Main researcher
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Vall Hebron Institut de Recerca

Ariadna Laguna Tuset

Institutions of which they are part

Main researcher
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Vall Hebron Institut de Recerca

I am a neuroscientist with extensive experience in the molecular mechanisms underlying both neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases of the nervous system. My current research is aimed at identifying new therapeutic targets and biomarkers to improve the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease.

I received my Biology degree, Health and Life Sciences specialization, in 2003 at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain). I got my Ph.D. in 2008 in the laboratory of Dr. Mariona Arbonés at the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG, Barcelona, Spain). My Ph.D. was devoted to study the molecular basis of Down Syndrome neurological alterations. In 2009, I joined the group of Professor Thomas Perlmann at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research – Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden) as a post-doctoral Marie Curie researcher to work on the transcriptional regulation of dopamine neurons during development and in pathological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.

In 2014, I moved back to Barcelona and joined the Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Group at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) as a Beatriu de Pinós post-doctoral researcher funded by AGAUR-FP7 Marie Curie Actions. Afterwards, I received a Young Investigator contract from the Spanish government (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO)) and a Junior Leader fellowship from the La Caixa Foundation to establish my own research lines within the group. In addition, I am an associate researcher at the Neuroscience Institute of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and Scientific Ambassador of the World Parkinson Coalition.

The research from my team is devoted to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of inter-organ communication in Parkinson’s disease and how this contributes to the pathophysiology and symptoms of this neurodegenerative disorder. Our research contributes to: (i) identify biomarkers for early detection, disease progression or response to treatment, (ii) identify new molecular targets and develop novel therapeutic strategies with disease-modifying potential, (iii) unravel molecular pathways common to other neurodegenerative or metabolic diseases. Researcher ID: F-9561-2016; Orcid: 0000-0002-9732-6677.

Research lines

Identification of biomarkers of prodromal Parkinson's disease

Despite intensive efforts towards understanding the aetiology/pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) and the development of novel therapeutic approaches for this neurodegenerative condition, the current treatment for PD remains symptomatic and yet far from modifying disease onset or progression. Before the manifestation of the classical motor symptoms, PD patients present with non-motor symptoms in a prodromal phase. The identification of deregulated molecular pathways or genes in peripheral blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid from these prodromal patients may help develop potential biomarkers for the early detection, diagnosis, risk assessment and/or progression of PD, which are currently lacking, as well as to stratify patients at very early stages to apply more specific, personalized disease-modifying treatments.

IP: Miquel Vila Bover, Ariadna Laguna Tuset

Projects

El eje cerebro-cuerpo en la enfermedad de Parkinson: de la fisiopatología a los biomarcadores y enfoques terapéuticos.

IP: Ariadna Laguna Tuset
Collaborators: Miriam Izquierdo Sans, Laia Perez Lasarte
Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-MICINN
Funding: 236350
Reference: RYC2021-032947-I
Duration: 01/01/2023 - 31/12/2027

Ministerio de Ciencia

Malalties neurodegeneratives

IP: Miquel Vila Bover
Collaborators: Jorge Hernández Vara, Joan Compte Barrón, Marta Martínez Vicente, Jordi Bove Badell, Eddie Pradas Gracia, Maria Camprodon Gomez, Camille Guillard Sirieix, Marina Lorente Picón, Laura Castillo Ribelles, Oriol de Fabregues-Boixar Nebot, Javier Hoyo Pérez, Ariadna Laguna Tuset, Thais Cuadros Arasa, Jordi Riera Heredia, David Ramos Vicente, Marta Montpeyó Garcia-Moreno, Helena Xicoy Cortada, Alba Nicolau Vera, Marta González Sepúlveda, Joana Margalida Cladera Sastre, Annabelle Parent, Daniela Samaniego Toro
Funding agency: Agència Gestió Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca
Funding: 40000
Reference: 2021 SGR 00784
Duration: 01/01/2022 - 31/12/2024

Peripheral synucleinopathy: pathogenicity and modulation of propagation

IP: Ariadna Laguna Tuset
Collaborators: -
Funding agency: Parkinson's Foundation
Funding: 54466.62
Reference: PARKINSON.F_IMPACT2022
Duration: 01/07/2022 - 31/05/2024

Activity and connectivity drive neuronal vulnerability and disease progression in Parkinson's disease

IP: Miquel Vila Bover
Collaborators: Joan Compte Barrón, Javier Hoyo Pérez, Gerard Roch Alba, Marta González Sepúlveda, Ariadna Laguna Tuset, Joana Margalida Cladera Sastre
Funding agency: Michael J. Fox Foundation
Funding: 1269495.05
Reference: ASAP_MJFF2021
Duration: 01/11/2021 - 31/10/2024

Related news

Dr. Miquel Vila, head of the Neurodegenerative Diseases research group at VHIR, is the co-chair of the local organising committee. And Dr. Ariadna Laguna, principal investigator of the same group, is a scientific ambassador.

Researchers describe the molecular mechanisms by which the GBA gene, the main genetic risk factor, associates with the accumulation of α-synuclein in neurons.

It is the project “New Nanotechnological Therapy for Parkinson’s disease: Nose to Brain Delivery of GBA-Polymer Nanoconjugates (nanoGBAtoBrain)”.

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