In The Media
"Science is not finished until it's communicated."
—Sir Mark Walport
What will it take to defeat Alzheimer’s disease?
Science Animated - 9/17/24
Video by Science Animated detailing the results from the recent Nature Biotechnology paper published by the Ebbert Lab.
Large Neuropathology GWAS Finds Four New Dementia Genes
AlzForum - 10/17/24
Geneticists are increasingly turning to endophenotypes, i.e., measurable disease traits, to help uncover genes that might be missed in heterogenous clinical cohorts. In the October 8 Nature Genetics, scientists led by David Fardo at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, described the largest GWAS yet to link genetic variants to neuropathological measures of dementia. The study of nearly 8,000 autopsied participants found four new risk loci: a microglial gene associated with tangles, two genes related to hardening of cerebral arteries, and an independent signal near the APOE locus that correlated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy. The study also tied 19 known Alzheimer’s genes to specific endophenotypes.
Decoding dementia: Sanders-Brown researchers uncover genetic keys
UK Research - 10/9/24
Work by several researchers within the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging was recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics.
Curing the incurable: RNA isoforms may hold the key to defeating Alzheimer’s disease
Research Outreach - 8/01/24
Groundbreaking research on RNA isoforms in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has revealed another layer of genetic complexity that has been previously overlooked. Using cutting-edge sequencing technology, Dr. Mark Ebbert and colleagues at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky, USA, performed a detailed analysis of RNA isoforms in the human brain. They discovered multiple, previously unknown RNA isoforms from medically relevant genes, 245 entirely new genes, and differences between isoform expression in healthy and AD brains. These findings present promising targets for developing pre-symptomatic diagnostics and personalized therapies, offering hope to millions of people affected by currently incurable diseases.
Sanders-Brown study: Long-read RNA sequencing reveals key gene expressions in Alzheimer’s disease
UKNOW - 6/6/24
Researchers at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging are working to develop a pre-symptomatic disease diagnostic tool for Alzheimer’s disease.
Innovative Approach to Identify Early Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease
ScienceBlog - 6/6/24
Researchers at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging are making strides in developing a pre-symptomatic diagnostic tool for Alzheimer’s disease using cutting-edge long-read sequencing technology.
Can Alzheimer’s be detected before symptoms emerge? UK researchers are working to make that happen
The Lane Report - 6/6/24
Researchers at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging are working to develop a pre-symptomatic disease diagnostic tool for Alzheimer’s disease.
Developing pre-symptomatic diagnostic tools for Alzheimer's disease using long-read RNA sequencing
News Medical - 6/6/24
Researchers at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging are working to develop a pre-symptomatic disease diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's disease.
53 RNA Isoforms in Medically Relevant Genes for Alzheimer’s Disease Found by Long-Read Sequencing
Inside Precision Medicine - 6/6/24
A multinational research collaboration led by researchers at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging have used long-read RNA sequencing to identify 53 new RNA isoforms in medically relevant genes related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Their study, published in Nature Biotechnology, is part of an effort to develop a pre-symptomatic diagnostic test for AD.
Long-Read Sequencing Identifies RNA Isoforms in Alzheimer’s Patients
Technology Networks Genomics Research - 6/6/24
Researchers at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging are working to develop a pre-symptomatic disease diagnostic tool for Alzheimer’s disease.
New Genomic Discoveries at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging: An Interview with the Ebbert Lab
Mind Matters Podcast - 5/22/24
Dr. Mark Ebbert, Dr. Ja Brandon, & Bernardo Aguzzoli Heberle join the podcast to discuss their latest work published in Nature Biotechnology.
'Look at all this we don't understand': Study unravels whole new layer of Alzheimer's disease
Live Science - 5/22/24
A new study begins to unpack an understudied aspect of brain biology and Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers develop online portal to show how biases in RNA sequences affect gene expression
Phys.org - 6/29/22
A recent publication from researchers at the University of Kentucky explains the importance of identifying and understanding how differences between tissues and cells alter gene expression without changing the underlying genetic code.
Q&A with Dr. Mark Ebbert: Searching for Alzheimer’s Disease Treatments and Diagnostics
PhRMA Foundation - 6/17/22
The PhRMA Foundation caught up with Dr. Mark Ebbert, winner of a 2017 Foundation Starter Grant in Translational Medicine, to talk about his work using cutting-edge sequencing technologies and bioinformatics to study Alzheimer’s disease.
Sanders-Brown Researcher Part of Study Aiming to More Accurately Identify Disease Variants
UKNOW - 3/1/22
A researcher with the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging is part of a team who worked to identify genetic variants more accurately in genomic regions known to be involved in disease. In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all genetic information for an organism. The basis of the study was that the repetitive nature and complexity of some medically relevant genes pose a challenge to accurately analyze in a clinical setting. The study was recently published in Nature Biotechnology.
Recent Publication by Sanders-Brown Researchers Looks at Issue of Data Redundancy in Machine Learning
UKNOW - 12/1/21
Work by a group of researchers at the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging was recently published in Genes. The article looks at the use of data mining and machine learning in research.
UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Receives $14.5 Million to Continue Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Outreach
UKNOW - 8/18/21
The University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging (SBCoA) has received $14.5 million in renewed funding for its Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) program from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Saphyr Technology First to Measure DNA Expansions in Key ALS Gene
ALS News Today - 10/2/20
In a recent webinar, “Resolving Complex Haplotypes Implicated in Alzheimer’s and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases,” Mark Ebbert, PhD, with the Mayo Clinic, described how Saphyr was able to resolve an ultra-long repeat expansion in a single ALS patient with a hexanucleotide repeat thousands of nucleotides long.
Do Long Reads Hold Answers for Alzheimer’s? with Mark Ebbert, Mayo
Mendelspod - 7/31/19
It’s the kind of plot that makes great science. There are genes that have been hiding in plain sight, undetected until now. They’ve gone unseen, that is, by short read sequencing. Today’s guest and his colleagues call them “camouflage genes,” and a couple in particular may play functional roles in Alzheimer’s disease. Mark Ebbert is an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at the Mayo Clinic where he is using long read sequencing technology and computational biology to study neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and ALS.
Researchers Find “Camouflaged” Gene Regions Key to Alzheimer’s and More
Mayo Clinic News Network - 5/20/19
Despite efforts by researchers, experts are still unable to determine a genetic basis of disease for many people diagnosed. One reason: “camouflaged” genes. These are hidden chromosome regions scientists have been unable to view when searching for disease-relevant mutations.
Now, neuroscientists on Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus have unmasked these previously camouflaged areas. They discovered the problem was considerably larger – and embodies a much greater opportunity – than experts had previously imagined.
Now, neuroscientists on Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus have unmasked these previously camouflaged areas. They discovered the problem was considerably larger – and embodies a much greater opportunity – than experts had previously imagined.
Long-read sequencing technologies resolve most dark and camouflaged gene regions
Oxford Nanopore Technologies - 5/28/19
At a talk given at London Calling, Mark detailed how his team have systematically analysed these dark regions, which can be classified as either "dark by depth" (low number of mappable reads) or "camouflaged" (ambiguous alignment; also referred to as "dark by mapping quality").
MDA awards Mayo docs ALS grants
The Florida Times-Union - 4/15/19
The Muscular Dystrophy Association, in preparation for ALS Awareness Month in May, announced that it is awarding grants of about $2 million to be used for research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
Mark Ebbert, Ph.D., receives grant from Florida Department of Health’s Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program
Mayo Clinic News Network - 1/18/19
Mark Ebbert, Ph.D. (NSCI ’16), a research associate at Mayo Clinic in Florida, received a grant from the Florida Department of Health’s Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program.
State grants boost Alzheimer’s research on Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus
Mayo Clinic News Network - 2/20/18
To provide critical advances in patient care for African-Americans, Dr. Lucas is using funding awarded to Mayo Clinic from the Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Award to engage one local African-American community in addressing dementia.