On January 31st, at 11.00am, Lisbon time, we kick off the MIA-Portugal Ageing Seminars 2025. We welcome Doctor Karolina Pircs, who will be presenting “Direct neuronal conversion: New possibilities to model human ageing and age-related neurodegenerative diseases”. The seminar will take place at Auditorium da Administração, Faculty of Medicine (Polo I), ground floor, University of Coimbra. This seminar is in hybrid format. If you want to follow this seminar online, please fill in the form. A Zoom link will be sent the day before the seminar.
Summary: Age-related neurodegenerative diseases are a major cause of disability and dependency among older adults, with significant physical, psychological, social, and economic impacts—not only on affected individuals but also on their caregivers, families, and society. Neurons play a crucial role in aging and neurodegeneration, as they are the primary cell type affected in these disorders. However, developing suitable model systems to study human age-related neurodegenerative diseases remains a significant challenge. Recent advancements in cellular reprogramming have enabled the generation of induced neurons (iNs) directly from fibroblasts. This approach provides a novel source of patient-derived neurons, retaining the genetic and epigenetic characteristics of the donor. Importantly, iNs offer a unique opportunity to model late-onset neurodegenerative diseases using aged cells, which is essential for testing new drugs and therapeutic targets.
We have established a drug screening platform based on iN technology, representing the first model of aged human neurons derived from patients with neurodegenerative diseases. This system allows for preclinical validation of novel drug targets and supports the development of personalized medicine
Bio: Dr Pircs finished PhD in Cell and Molecular biology in 2013, by the ELTE (Eötvös Lóránd University) in Budapest, Hungary. Her PhD focused on autophagy using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. In 2014, she became a postdoctoral fellow in the Jakobsson lab, Lund University. She kept studying autophagy but switched gears and used mice as a model organism to study the relation between Huntington's disease, micro RNAs and autophagy dysfunction. Later, by teaming up with Prof Malin Parmar and Dr Janelle Drouin-Ouellet, Dr Pircs contributed to the development of a novel all-in-one lentivirus vector which can efficiently reprogram adult human dermal fibroblast into induced neurons that keep the ageing signatures of the donor. In 2019, she received an Associate Senior lecturer position at Lund University and became a young PI leading a small bioinformatical group. In parallel, she moved back home end of 2020 to Budapest, Hungary and started her lab at the Semmelweis University entitled HCEMM-SU Neurobiology and neurodegenerative diseases. Currently her group totaling 15 people focus on studying ageing and age-related neurodegenerative diseases by using directly reprogrammed neurons. Her projects vary from basic science related to physiological ageing to highly translational projects by teaming up with various clinicians and by getting involved in clinical trials.
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