NEWS

The TClock4AD doctoral candidates attended the AD/PD International Conference, held recently in Copenhagen. During the event, they presented their research posters and had the opportunity to engage with scientists from around the world working in the fields of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Their participation offered valuable visibility for the project and fostered meaningful scientific exchange with experts contributing to advances in neurodegenerative disease research.

TClock4AD Project Manager, Lorna Piazzi, has presented TClock4AD at the International Women's Forum - IWF Bologna Business Expo. Attendees walking through the booths showed great curiosity and strong interest in the idea of targeting the circadian clock for Alzheimer’s disease, leading to animated and highly engaging discussions.

An important milestone for the TClock4AD network, as our community gathered at the Mærsk Tower in Copenhagen ahead of the AD/PD 2026 conference. The event brought together our talented doctoral candidates, who shared updates on their latest research progress and ongoing scientific developments.

We were also pleased to welcome our invited speakers — Katrine Qvortrup, Kristian Strømgaard, and Illana Gozes — whose insights and expertise enriched the day’s discussions and broadened perspectives across the network.

This meeting concluded our final in-person network training event. While it represents the closing of one chapter, the scientific work continues with many exciting advancements on the horizon.

Silvia Mori (DC11) has recently been interviewed for TrendsTalk | Meet the First Authors Online, a video series by Trends in Pharmacological Sciences dedicated to early-career researchers. During the interview, she discussed her research and highlighted her involvement in the TClock4AD Doctoral Network, contributing to the visibility of the project and its training activities.

Congratulations to Silvia on this achievement!

Check out the interview at the link below:

 https://www.cell.com/trends/pharmacological-sciences/abstract/S0165-6147(26)00011-8

Congratulation to DC8 Marion Le Meur for winning the first best poster presentation award at the XVI SPLC-CRS (Spanish Portuguese Local Chapter) Conference on Controlled Drug Delivery .
An important recognition from our peers on the importance of tackling circadian rhythm dysfunction in Alzheimer's Disease.

 A three-day PhD conference organized by the TClock4AD doctoral candidates (DCs) for fellow PhD students, with the support of the Supervisory Board.

The conference provided a dynamic and collaborative platform for participants to present their research, exchange ideas, and engage with leading international experts in the field. It created a valuable space for discussion, networking, and academic growth among early-stage researchers.

The program was structured to encourage both in-depth exploration and interactive exchange, and included:

• Plenary lectures by distinguished invited speakers representing each work package
• Oral presentations delivered by TClock4AD PhD students
• Flash and oral presentations based on selected abstracts

Overall, the NT5 event fostered a stimulating and supportive environment, strengthening connections within the research community and promoting the development of innovative ideas.

We thank all participants and contributors for making this event a success.

Presenting our project at the Alzheimer Europe Conference was a truly special experience.

Unlike many scientific events, this conference brings together not only researchers, but also patients, their families, and associations supporting people affected by the disease. This creates a more personal and engaging atmosphere, closely connected to the real impact of our work.

It was a great opportunity to share our research in a broader context, listen to different perspectives, and better understand the needs and experiences of those directly affected by Alzheimer’s.

At the conference, our Project Coordinator, Maria Laura Bolognesi and Project Manager, Lorna Piazzi, presented the TClock4AD project at a dedicated booth, engaging directly with participants and sharing insights about our work.

We also had the pleasure of meeting our colleagues Andrea Possenti and Cristina Brioschi from Federazione Alzheimer Italia, strengthening the connection between research and community support.

We are especially proud that two of our doctoral candidates, Marion Le Meur and Xue Wu, presented their work through posters, contributing to the exchange of ideas in such an open and inclusive setting.

Overall, this experience was a great reminder of why we do what we do: keeping people at the center of research and building meaningful connections across communities.

We look forward to staying in touch and continuing this journey together!

Our recent two-part training event was a great success, combining skill-building, innovation, and networking.

The first day, hosted by IMDEA, focused on transferable skills such as collaboration, data interpretation, scientific writing, and research ethics. To promote wider knowledge sharing, we welcomed 25 external PhD students—an initiative that brought fresh perspectives and lively discussion.

The second part, led by BIOFAB, delivered hands-on sessions on entrepreneurship and innovation, including IPR, financial management, knowledge transfer, and spin-off creation.

All TClock4AD DCs were present, and the event featured productive meetings and enjoyable social activities, fostering a strong sense of community among a truly great group of young researchers.

We are proud to share that Dionysios Kampasis (DC2) has been awarded the Best Oral Presentation Award at the 32nd EFMC Young Research Fellows Meeting (EFMC-YRFM), held in Paris in February 2025.

Congratulations, Dionysios, on this achievement — a well-deserved recognition of your high-quality research and excellent communication skills!

The recent TClock4AD Summer School, hosted by IRFMN with support from IMDEA, was a vibrant two-day event focused on fundraising and science communication in the context of Alzheimer’s disease.

DCs received expert training on public engagement, dementia-friendly communication, involving people with dementia in research, and the role of women in science and innovation. Sessions also covered modern pharma communication, scientific journalism, and effective use of social media and mass media.

It was an inspiring, hands-on experience that empowered our young researchers to share their work with clarity, confidence, and care!

We are pleased to share that Jay Panda has been awarded a travel grant  from the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) and the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO).

The grant supported his participation in the NENS course "Neural Circuit Development and Plasticity", held at Utrecht University, Netherlands, in July 2024. This competitive program brings together leading experts and early-stage researchers to explore the mechanisms underlying the formation and adaptation of neural circuits.

This opportunity marks an important step in his training and scientific development.

We are very proud to announce that Xuanyu Huang, DC at IRFMN (Milan, Italy) has been awarded with one of the six "Meetings & Courses Fellowship 2024" by ESRS (European Sleep Research Society) and has been invited to attend the conference Sleep Europe 2024. Congratulation!

We are thrilled to announce that today, with the arriving of Shah Zeb Khan at Nostrum biodiscovery, the team od TClock4AD DCs is complete!

Shah Zeb will be supervised by Dr. Chiara Pallara in Barcelona and Prof Barbara Monti at University of Bologna

Go TClock4AD Go!!

Artur Galushkin has recently joined Tel Aviv University, where he will conduct the majority of his PhD studies under the supervision of Prof. Gozes. To finalize his project, Artur will move to Santiago de Compostela University where he will be supervised by with Prof. Alonso and to Biofabics for the industrial secondment.

Welcome aboard, Artur! Now, all that is left is for the last DC to hurry up and join TClock4AD so we can finally shout "Team Complete!"

Alexandra Lobyntseva has joined Santiago de Compostela University where she will spend two years under the supervision of Prof Alonso. During her PhD studies Alexandra will spend 10 months in Tel Aviv University under the supervision of Prof Gozes and a 2-month secondment in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals – USA.

Just ahead of the Christmas holidays, Mrutyunjaya Panda, AKA Jay, has joined FORTH to pursue his Ph.D. under the expert guidance of Professor Tavernarakis. Following  TClock4AD programme he will spend 10 months of his doctoral studies at University of Verona, supervised by Professor Constantin. 

Welcome aboard, Jay!

We finally met in Madrid for the first TClock4AD training event. The workshop was held at IMDEA, and all the PhD students who were already enrolled participated in person. Those who were still waiting for their visas attended the event online. Great speakers introduced our DCs to the state of the art in the field of Alzheimer's disease. In the picture, we are wearing our BIG corporate T-Clock4AD-shirts.

Today, Ishrak begins his PhD at Teesside University, a TClock4AD Associated Partner, under the supervision of Professor Tora Smulders-Srinivasan. He will also spend part of his PhD studies at the University of Bologna, under the supervision of Professor Manuela Bartolini.

The TClock4AD group is growing fast! Most of the PhDs have already started and we are really looking forward to meet all of them soon.

Ioanna Kourouzidou has joined the TClock4AD Consortium. She will spend two years at Biofabics under the supervision of Dr Costa and one at Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri under the supervision of Dr Albani. The double degree will be awarded by University Santiago de Compostela and University of Verona.

Today, Irene Castellino started her PhD. Her project, HIT SELECTION STRATEGIES FOR IDENTIFICATION OF KINASE INHIBITORS MODULATING CIRCADIAN RHYTHM IN AD will be conducted jointly at Hradec Kralove University and at Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna under the supervision of Professor Kamil Musilek and Professor Manuela Bartolin, respectively.

She is Xue Wu and her project is TECHNOLOGY-TAILORED COMMERCIALIZATION OF DRUG DEVELOPMENT FOR AD which will be performed at Ghent University under the supervision of Professor Mirjam Knockaert jointly with Prof Paolo Blasi at University of Bologna.

They are Silvia Mori and Alexandros Zantis, our DC11 and DC16.

Silvia's project is the DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF PHOTOSWITCHABLE OREXIN RECEPTOR LIGANDS FOR CONTROL OF CIRCADIAN RHYTHM IN AD, which will be performed at Würzburg and Lisbon Universities.

Alexandros is starting the double doctorate with Teesside University and Bologna University with the project entitled DEVELOPMENT OF A CIRCADIAN RHYTHM-BASED DRUG REPURPOSING STRATEGY FOR AD.

The Call for 17 PhD, that was opened on the 31^st of March, is now closed and the selected Doctoral Candidates are listed below:

DC1      Ela Radošević (Croatia)

DC2      Dionysios Kampasis (Greece)

DC3      Shahzeb Khan (Pakistan)

DC4      Vicente Ledesma (Spain)

DC5      Irene Castellino (Italy)

DC6      Alexandra Lobyntseva (Israel)

DC7      Arthur Galushkin (Russia)

DC8      Marion Le Meur (France)

DC9      Xuanyu Huang (China)

DC10    Ioanna Kourouzidou (Cyprus)

DC11    Silvia Mori (Italy)

DC12    Tânia Alves (Portugal)

DC13    Nikolaos Vareltzakis (Greece)

DC14    Mrutyunjaya Panda (India)

DC15    Xue Wu (China)

DC16    Alexandros Zantis (Cyprus)

DC17    Kazi Ishrak Faiyaz (Bangladesh)