(1) Dr Maura Malpetti will give an online talk via Zoom on the 5th of March at the usual time of 12.30pm UK.
Title: Neuroinflammation in dementia: a patient-centred multimodal approach
Abstract
Neuroinflammation has emerged as a key player in Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and related disorders. A range of anti-inflammatory treatments could be helpful to slow or prevent decline in people with these conditions. However, immunotherapeutic strategies are hampered by lack of knowledge about individual differences in inflammation, their causes and consequences. Using PET imaging we can now localise and quantify in vivo brain inflammation in patients, validating post-mortem evidence – while fluid-based inflammatory markers are investigated to clarify the interaction between central and peripheral inflammation. This talk will review research progress in inflammation biomarkers in dementia, and how a multidisciplinary approach integrating imaging, fluid markers and post-mortem evaluation is crucial to understand the complex framework of neuroinflammation in dementia.
Biography
Dr Maura Malpetti is an Assistant Research Professor and a Race Against Dementia Alzheimer’s Research UK Fellow in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge. In 2024 she was also appointed as an Emerging Leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute. She originally trained in Italy and after obtaining her PhD in Clinical Neurosciences in Cambridge, she further trained as a visiting researcher at the University of California San Francisco, and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Her research group focusses on the application of brain scans and blood tests to measure early brain changes, like inflammation and the accumulation of junk proteins, that can forecast clinical outcomes in people with several types of dementia. Her work aims to identify clinically relevant biomarkers and targets for early detection, more accurate prognosis and effective treatments in people living with these conditions. To facilitate real-world and clinical translation of research, she has established and leads the Open Network for Frontotemporal dementia Inflammation Research (ON-FIRE), which involves >20 UK-based centres and aims to accelerate research and clinical trial delivery for patients living with frontotemporal dementia.
Zoom details:
https://zoom.us/j/93711378882?pwd=ONUDhocbW7ucS5dRak0RGdZBC27ynz.1
Meeting ID: 937 1137 8882
Passcode: 845614
(2) Dr Grace Carter and Professor Ralph Sandland will be giving a hybrid talk on the 5th of March at 11am. This will take place in the Theo Chalmers Lecture Theatre which is located in the Clinical School.
Title: Ethics and Human Rights: Challenges in Low and Middle-Income Countries
Zoom details:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87381057238?pwd=Oq3tBvyJnvwNV5yHViRR6a1K3OKjPu.1
Meeting ID: 873 8105 7238
Passcode: 844350
Posted on 26/02/2026
