NEWS ARCHIVE
Oct 13, 2025 | Gladstone Institutes | Katerina Akassoglou Receives Zenith Fellows Award to Advance Alzheimer’s Research
The Alzheimer’s Association has selected Gladstone’s Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, as a 2025 recipient of the Zenith Fellows Award, an international prize given annually to scientists making substantial contributions to the field of Alzheimer’s research.
A senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes and director of the Gladstone-UCSF Center for Neurovascular Brain Immunology, Akassoglou has pioneered research into interactions between the brain, blood vessels, and immune system—and has shown how those interactions drive the development and progression of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
“Katerina Akassoglou’s research exemplifies the type of bold, innovative science that brings us closer to effective treatments and, ultimately, a world without Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” says Heather Snyder, PhD, the Alzheimer’s Association’s senior vice president of medical and scientific relations.
The Zenith Fellows Awards are among the most prestigious worldwide for Alzheimer’s and dementia science. With funding from Zenith Society members, the program has provided more than $48 million in awards to 152 leading Alzheimer’s researchers in nine countries since 1991.
Read more here
May 14, 2025 | Gladstone Institutes | Zhaoqi Yan Named a 2025 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar Learn more
Zhaoqi Yan, PhD, a scientist at Gladstone Institutes, has been named a 2025 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar. The fellowship award is given annually to five postdoctoral researchers in the United States who demonstrate exceptional creativity in the field of neuroscience.
With the support from the Warren Alpert Foundation, he will use cutting-edge techniques to examine how blood proteins leaking into the brain can trigger the progression of neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s. His innovative research has the potential to lead to new therapies for a wide range of neurological conditions.
Read more here.
May 14, 2025 | BrightFocus Foundation | Katerina Akassoglou Awarded BrightFocus Foundation’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Grant Learn more
CLARKSBURG, Md. (May 13, 2025)—Private research nonprofit BrightFocus Foundation today announced nearly $13 million in grants to support early investigative research into Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. This includes $7.3 million to its Alzheimer’s Disease Research program, $3.8 million to its Macular Degeneration Research program, and $1.8 million to its National Glaucoma Research program.
Guided by scientific advisory committees of world-renowned researchers in the field, BrightFocus invests in highly innovative, experimental research and creative ideas with the most promise to foster a better understanding of disease onset, improve early detection and diagnosis, develop new treatments, and—ultimately—lead to cures. This year’s grants were awarded to scientists in 10 countries.
“This year’s grant awards represent some of the boldest, most cutting-edge ideas in vision and brain health research,” said BrightFocus President and CEO Stacy Pagos Haller. “With recent major cuts to federal research funding, private foundations like BrightFocus are more essential than ever—stepping up to keep promising research alive, nurture early-career scientists, and accelerate breakthroughs.”
Read more here.
Aug 26, 2023 | How Blood That Leaks into the Brain Makes Immune Cells Toxic
“Our study answers, for the first time in a comprehensive way, how blood that leaks into the brain hijacks the brain’s immune system to cause toxic effects in brain diseases,” said Akassoglou, who is also director of the Center for Neurovascular Brain Immunology at Gladstone and a professor of neurology at UC San Francisco (UCSF). “Knowing how blood affects the brain could help us develop innovative treatments for neurological diseases.”
Read the full article here.
Aug 25, 2023 | Revealing How Blood Triggers Brain Disease Learn more
In patients with neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis, immune cells in the brain known as microglia that normally fulfill beneficial functions become harmful to neurons, leading to cognitive dysfunction and motor impairment. These harmful immune cells may also contribute to age-related cognitive decline in people without dementia.
Jul 19, 2023 | Nature Immunology Selected Our Image For The July 2023 Volume 24 Cover
Katerina Akassoglou and colleagues provide single-cell RNA-sequencing and phosphoproteome analyses of CNS microglia and macrophages in response to blood proteins including activated complement and fibrin. Their findings point to potential therapeutic targeting of microglia activation by immune and vascular signals.
Jan 11, 2023 | Our Chapter Was Selected For The Alzheimer’s Disease Book Cover
The laboratory of Dr. Katerina Akassoglou developed a method for three-dimensional imaging of neurovascular alterations and blood-brain barrier disruption in cleared human brains. The image shows fibrin (red) around damaged blood vessels (green) and amyloid (blue) in the brain from a patient with Alzheimer’s disease.
Image Credit: Mario Merlini
Nov 30, 2022 | Katerina Akassoglou Elected Fellow of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)
This honor recognizes ASPET’s most distinguished members for their meritorious efforts to advance pharmacology, through their scientific achievements, mentorship, and service to the Society.
Nov 29, 2022 | AES 2022 | Microglial surveillance required to regulate neuronal function: implications for epilepsy Learn more
Sep 09, 2022 | Katerina Akassoglou Received the 2022 ISFP Prize
Katerina Akassoglou, PhD received the 2022 ISFP Prize “for outstanding contributions to the field of fibrinolysis and proteolysis” at the 3rd Joint Meeting of the International Society for Fibrinolysis & Proteolysis and the Plasminogen Activation Workshop, held at Caen, France in September, where she delivered the ISFP Prize lecture. Dr. Akassoglou is the first woman to receive the award since its inauguration in 1974.
Apr 11, 2022 | Andrew Mendiola – Awarded K99
Andrew Mendiola, received a K99 award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for his project “Epigenomic regulation of oxidative stress-producing innate immunity in neuroinflammation.”
The purpose of the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) program is to facilitate a timely transition of outstanding postdoctoral researchers with a research and/or clinical doctorate degree from mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. The program will provide independent NIH research support during this transition in order to help awardees to launch competitive, independent research careers.
Apr 08, 2022 | COVID-19 linked to neurological symptoms, studies show
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Two new research papers are shedding light on what can happen to the brain after getting COVID
Gladstone Institutes Senior investigator, Professor Katerina Akassoglou explains how this damage could be happening.
"The evidence from the brain from COVID patients we know that there are blood leaks in the brain of those patients in inflammation and when there is a leaky area between the blood and the brain this could be an amplifier of neurological symptoms," said Professor Akassoglou.
Read more here.
Feb 04, 2022 | Katerina Akassoglou elected lifetime AAAS Fellow
Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, has been elected into the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a lifetime distinction by the world’s largest general scientific society.
Dec 07, 2021 | Katerina Akassoglou Elected to National Academy of Inventors
Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Election to NAI is the highest professional distinction given solely to academic inventors.
Oct 08, 2021 | Meet the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business class of 2021
Dr. Katerina Akassoglou, named one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business. To view the full article, click here.
Aug 27, 2021 | Way Seen to Counter Blood-clotting Molecule That Blocks Myelin Repair
Study by the Akassoglou Lab showed that blocking a particular receptor protein of the BMP signaling pathway, effectively promoted the maturation of myelin-producing cells and myelin repair. To read the full article, click here.
Aug 25, 2021 | New Line of Drugs Could Help Promote Brain Repair in Multiple Sclerosis
Members of Akassoglou Lab working on a new study for new line of drugs to potentially stimulate myelin repair in the presence of toxic blood leaks in the brain. To view the full article, click here.
Aug 25, 2021 | New Line of Drugs Could Help Promote Brain Repair in Multiple Sclerosis Learn more
Aug 24, 2021 | Brain Selected Our Image For The August 2021 Volume
The Akassoglou Lab showed toxic blood leaks in the brain inhibiting remyelination with implications for the development of therapeutic strategies for neuro-repair in multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases with blood-brain barrier disruption and myelin damage. From Petersen et al. BMP receptor blockade overcomes extrinsic inhibition of remyelination and restores neurovascular homeostasis. Pp. 2291-2301.
Aug 24, 2021 | Momentum, NMSS Magazine – A big part of the MS puzzle
Barancik Prize winner Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, studies links between the brain, immune system, and blood-brain barrier.
Click here to view complete article.
The Alzheimer’s Association has selected Gladstone’s Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, as a 2025 recipient of the Zenith Fellows Award, an international prize given annually to scientists making substantial contributions to the field of Alzheimer’s research.
A senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes and director of the Gladstone-UCSF Center for Neurovascular Brain Immunology, Akassoglou has pioneered research into interactions between the brain, blood vessels, and immune system—and has shown how those interactions drive the development and progression of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
“Katerina Akassoglou’s research exemplifies the type of bold, innovative science that brings us closer to effective treatments and, ultimately, a world without Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” says Heather Snyder, PhD, the Alzheimer’s Association’s senior vice president of medical and scientific relations.
The Zenith Fellows Awards are among the most prestigious worldwide for Alzheimer’s and dementia science. With funding from Zenith Society members, the program has provided more than $48 million in awards to 152 leading Alzheimer’s researchers in nine countries since 1991.
Read more hereMay 14, 2025 | Gladstone Institutes | Zhaoqi Yan Named a 2025 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar Learn more
Zhaoqi Yan, PhD, a scientist at Gladstone Institutes, has been named a 2025 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar. The fellowship award is given annually to five postdoctoral researchers in the United States who demonstrate exceptional creativity in the field of neuroscience.
With the support from the Warren Alpert Foundation, he will use cutting-edge techniques to examine how blood proteins leaking into the brain can trigger the progression of neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s. His innovative research has the potential to lead to new therapies for a wide range of neurological conditions.
Read more here.May 14, 2025 | BrightFocus Foundation | Katerina Akassoglou Awarded BrightFocus Foundation’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Grant Learn more
CLARKSBURG, Md. (May 13, 2025)—Private research nonprofit BrightFocus Foundation today announced nearly $13 million in grants to support early investigative research into Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. This includes $7.3 million to its Alzheimer’s Disease Research program, $3.8 million to its Macular Degeneration Research program, and $1.8 million to its National Glaucoma Research program.
Guided by scientific advisory committees of world-renowned researchers in the field, BrightFocus invests in highly innovative, experimental research and creative ideas with the most promise to foster a better understanding of disease onset, improve early detection and diagnosis, develop new treatments, and—ultimately—lead to cures. This year’s grants were awarded to scientists in 10 countries.
“This year’s grant awards represent some of the boldest, most cutting-edge ideas in vision and brain health research,” said BrightFocus President and CEO Stacy Pagos Haller. “With recent major cuts to federal research funding, private foundations like BrightFocus are more essential than ever—stepping up to keep promising research alive, nurture early-career scientists, and accelerate breakthroughs.”
Read more here.Aug 26, 2023 | How Blood That Leaks into the Brain Makes Immune Cells Toxic
“Our study answers, for the first time in a comprehensive way, how blood that leaks into the brain hijacks the brain’s immune system to cause toxic effects in brain diseases,” said Akassoglou, who is also director of the Center for Neurovascular Brain Immunology at Gladstone and a professor of neurology at UC San Francisco (UCSF). “Knowing how blood affects the brain could help us develop innovative treatments for neurological diseases.”
Read the full article here.Aug 25, 2023 | Revealing How Blood Triggers Brain Disease Learn more
Katerina Akassoglou (left) and Andrew Mendiola (right) show how blood makes the brain’s immune cells toxic, pointing to new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
Jul 19, 2023 | Nature Immunology Selected Our Image For The July 2023 Volume 24 Cover
Katerina Akassoglou and colleagues provide single-cell RNA-sequencing and phosphoproteome analyses of CNS microglia and macrophages in response to blood proteins including activated complement and fibrin. Their findings point to potential therapeutic targeting of microglia activation by immune and vascular signals.
Jan 11, 2023 | Our Chapter Was Selected For The Alzheimer’s Disease Book Cover
The laboratory of Dr. Katerina Akassoglou developed a method for three-dimensional imaging of neurovascular alterations and blood-brain barrier disruption in cleared human brains. The image shows fibrin (red) around damaged blood vessels (green) and amyloid (blue) in the brain from a patient with Alzheimer’s disease.
Image Credit: Mario MerliniNov 30, 2022 | Katerina Akassoglou Elected Fellow of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)
This honor recognizes ASPET’s most distinguished members for their meritorious efforts to advance pharmacology, through their scientific achievements, mentorship, and service to the Society.Nov 29, 2022 | AES 2022 | Microglial surveillance required to regulate neuronal function: implications for epilepsy Learn more
Sep 09, 2022 | Katerina Akassoglou Received the 2022 ISFP Prize
Katerina Akassoglou, PhD received the 2022 ISFP Prize “for outstanding contributions to the field of fibrinolysis and proteolysis” at the 3rd Joint Meeting of the International Society for Fibrinolysis & Proteolysis and the Plasminogen Activation Workshop, held at Caen, France in September, where she delivered the ISFP Prize lecture. Dr. Akassoglou is the first woman to receive the award since its inauguration in 1974.Apr 11, 2022 | Andrew Mendiola – Awarded K99
Andrew Mendiola, received a K99 award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for his project “Epigenomic regulation of oxidative stress-producing innate immunity in neuroinflammation.”
The purpose of the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) program is to facilitate a timely transition of outstanding postdoctoral researchers with a research and/or clinical doctorate degree from mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. The program will provide independent NIH research support during this transition in order to help awardees to launch competitive, independent research careers.Apr 08, 2022 | COVID-19 linked to neurological symptoms, studies show
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Two new research papers are shedding light on what can happen to the brain after getting COVID
Gladstone Institutes Senior investigator, Professor Katerina Akassoglou explains how this damage could be happening.
"The evidence from the brain from COVID patients we know that there are blood leaks in the brain of those patients in inflammation and when there is a leaky area between the blood and the brain this could be an amplifier of neurological symptoms," said Professor Akassoglou.
Read more here.Feb 04, 2022 | Katerina Akassoglou elected lifetime AAAS Fellow
Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, has been elected into the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a lifetime distinction by the world’s largest general scientific society.
“I’m grateful to my lab members and collaborators for their immeasurable contributions to these studies over the past 20 years. Election to AAAS further encourages us to follow our curiosity about how brain diseases start and progress and we look forward to new discoveries contributing to the advancement of science.”
Dec 07, 2021 | Katerina Akassoglou Elected to National Academy of Inventors
Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Election to NAI is the highest professional distinction given solely to academic inventors.
“Election to the NAI further encourages us to pursue challenging problems in biology and medicine to develop urgently needed treatments for devastating human diseases.”
Oct 08, 2021 | Meet the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business class of 2021
Dr. Katerina Akassoglou, named one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business. To view the full article, click here.Aug 27, 2021 | Way Seen to Counter Blood-clotting Molecule That Blocks Myelin Repair
Study by the Akassoglou Lab showed that blocking a particular receptor protein of the BMP signaling pathway, effectively promoted the maturation of myelin-producing cells and myelin repair. To read the full article, click here.
Aug 25, 2021 | New Line of Drugs Could Help Promote Brain Repair in Multiple Sclerosis
Members of Akassoglou Lab working on a new study for new line of drugs to potentially stimulate myelin repair in the presence of toxic blood leaks in the brain. To view the full article, click here. Aug 25, 2021 | New Line of Drugs Could Help Promote Brain Repair in Multiple Sclerosis Learn more
Aug 24, 2021 | Brain Selected Our Image For The August 2021 Volume
Illustration by Ella Marushchenko
Aug 24, 2021 | Momentum, NMSS Magazine – A big part of the MS puzzle
Barancik Prize winner Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, studies links between the brain, immune system, and blood-brain barrier.
Click here to view complete article.
