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Patrik Verstreken, Ph.D.

Scientific Director & Group Leader; VIB-KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience, Belgium

Patrik Verstreken obtained his degree in bio-engineering from the University of Brussels in 1998. He joined the Graduate school of Biomedical Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine and under the mentorship of Hugo Bellen, he obtained a Ph.D. in Developmental Biology in 2003.  After postdoctoral training and with support of a Marie Curie Excellence grant he became a group leader at VIB and joined the faculty of the KU Leuven in 2007. As an independent investigator, Dr. Verstreken obtained three competitive ERC grants and is supported by international organizations including the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, the Alzheimer’s Association & Tau consortium, and Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. Since 2017, he has been the director of the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research.

Dr. Verstreken has generated important insights into the mechanisms of synaptic function in health and neurodegenerative disease.  Using fruit flies, mice, and human neurons derived from embryonic stem cells, his work has focused on key proteins, lipids, and mitochondria that regulate synaptic activity and how these molecules and organelles are misregulated in major neurodegenerative conditions, including Tauopathies and Parkinson’s disease.

https://360.cbd.vib.be

https://cbd.vib.be

http://verstrekenlab.sites.vib.be

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Related Research:

Preclinical Analysis of Synaptogyrin-3 Oligonucleotides to Target Tauopathy Patrik Verstreken 2024-03-18 Targeting Tauopathies With Antisense Oligonucleotides to Synaptogyrin-3 Patrik Verstreken 2022-02-17

Funded Research

These projects were made possible from Cure Alzheimer's Fund support.

Project Description Researchers Funding
Preclinical Analysis of Synaptogyrin-3 Oligonucleotides to Target Tauopathy 2024, 2025

$402,500
Targeting Tauopathies With Antisense Oligonucleotides to Synaptogyrin-3 2021, 2022

$345,000

Selected Publications

These published papers resulted from Cure Alzheimer’s Fund support.

van Vierbergen, J. F. M., Calatayud, C., Balusu, S., Carrano, N., Peredo, N., Vints, K., Gallego, S. F., Horré, K., De Strooper, B., & Verstreken, P. Aβ plaques induce local pre-synaptic toxicity in human iPSC-derived neuron xenografts, Stem Cell Reports, January 2, 2026, Read More

Uytterhoeven, V., Verstreken, P., & Nachman, E. Synaptic sabotage: How Tau and α-Synuclein undermine synaptic health, Journal of Cell Biology, December 24, 2024, Read More

Nachman, E., & Verstreken, P. Synaptic proteostasis in Parkinson’s disease, Current Opinion in Neurobiology, February 1, 2022, Read More

Decet, M., & Verstreken, P. Presynaptic Autophagy and the Connection With Neurotransmission, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, December 17, 2021, Read More

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