Tell us a bit about you, your career path to date and the institution you work for.

My name is Alba, and I am a full-time PhD student at BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center, doing some research in the early-stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). I am also a Chemistry graduate and I have a master’s in Neuroscience. My interest in the brain came way before that, when, as a child, I wanted to be a neurologist. Maybe the path did not turn out as I expected, but it has been full of science and discoveries. As part of my journey and my master’s degree, I was able to work with Dr. Carmen Tur, an amazing neurologist and Multiple Sclerosis researcher. With her, I saw what I wanted for my career: do research into neurodegenerative diseases. Now, under the supervision of Dr. Gemma Salvadó, I am continuing this path, studying AD and learning every day.
   
Could you tell us a bit more about the type of research you are working on, and how it relates to AMYPAD?

My research is based on amyloid PET and AD. We aim to study early stages and also the heterogeneity of the disease, how different patterns of amyloid deposition may affect the outcome of it and how to better treat them. To study this heterogeneity, we have been gathering information from different cohorts, in order to have a database with as much variability as possible, in terms of gender, diagnosis or APOE status among other variables. And here is where AMYPAD plays a huge role. The AMYPAD consortium has a really important sample of healthy subjects at risk of having AD (because they are families of patients, gene carriers, etc.), offering us a great opportunity of learning what happens before the cognitive symptoms and a possible diagnosis of the disease.
   
What do you enjoy most about scientific research?
Scientific research is all about learning and sharing knowledge within and outside the community, and it is something I do really enjoy. The opportunity of doing a PhD has also shown me how much there is to learn and that there is always progress to do. Listening to experts and also connecting with people in the field has broadened my perspective and makes me grow every day.