The Scientific Committee of the French Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, comprised of eight European neurology professors, has named Dr. Niklas Mattson of Sweden’s Lund University as the winner of the 4th SCOR Young European Researcher Prize, which is financed by the SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science.

Dr. Niklas Mattson’s original research on biomarkers has improved medical knowledge of disease mechanisms in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

A biomarker can be defined as “a naturally occurring molecule, gene, or characteristic by which a particular pathological or physiological process, disease, etc. can be identified”. Proteins or other molecules found in fluids such as blood or cerebrospinal fluid can constitute biomarkers, as can physiological or anatomical changes observed using techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which uses MRI technology to measure brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow, and positron-emission tomography (PET), a scan that uses a radioactive substance called a tracer to look for disease in the body.

Dr. Mattson’s research opens the way to possible medical progress in diagnosis and drug development. His work facilitates a detailed understanding of the very early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, and supports biomarker-guided trials for disease-modification. This research has led to improved methods and early diagnosis tests, as well as the identification of new drug-targets. The results have clear clinical significance and constitute a real advance in terms of research and clinical practice.

The SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science is proud to support the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation for the fourth consecutive year through this SCOR Young European Researcher Prize.

Extending and reinforcing a partnership initiated by SCOR in 2008, the SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science teamed up with the research program of the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation in June 2013, signing a sponsorship agreement. As well as creating an annual award for young European researchers, the agreement notably enables the Research Foundation to continue to observe a cohort of patients as part of a long-term study of Alzheimer’s sufferers, and to promote cooperation with foreign scientists in the field of research into this disease.

Niklas Mattson on the French Alzheimer’s Research Foundation (Fondation Recherche Alzheimer) website.

Publications by Niklas Mattson

• Blood phosphorylated tau 181 as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease: a diagnostic performance and prediction modelling study using data from four prospective cohorts.
  Karikari TK, Pascoal TA, Ashton NJ, Janelidze S, Benedet AL, Rodriguez JL, Chamoun M, Savard M, Kang MS, Therriault J, Schöll M, Massarweh G, Soucy JP, Höglund K, Brinkmalm G, Mattsson N, Palmqvist S, Gauthier S, Stomrud E, Zetterberg H, Hansson O, Rosa-Neto P, Blennow K. Lancet Neurol.
  2020 May;19(5):422-433. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(20)30071-5. PMID: 32333900
• Multiplex proteomics identifies novel CSF and plasma biomarkers of early Alzheimer's disease.
  Whelan CD, Mattsson N, Nagle MW, Vijayaraghavan S, Hyde C, Janelidze S, Stomrud E, Lee J, Fitz L, Samad TA, Ramaswamy G, Margolin RA, Malarstig A, Hansson O. Acta Neuropathol Commun.
  2019 Nov 6;7(1):169. doi: 10.1186/s40478-019-0795-2. PMID: 31694701 Free PMC article.
• Plasma P-tau181 in Alzheimer's disease: relationship to other biomarkers, differential diagnosis, neuropathology and longitudinal progression to Alzheimer's dementia.
  Janelidze S, Mattsson N, Palmqvist S, Smith R, Beach TG, Serrano GE, Chai X, Proctor NK, Eichenlaub U, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Reiman EM, Stomrud E, Dage JL, Hansson O. Nat Med.
  2020 Mar;26(3):379-386. doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-0755-1. Epub 2020 Mar 2. PMID: 32123385
• Association Between Longitudinal Plasma Neurofilament Light and Neurodegeneration in Patients With Alzheimer Disease.
  Mattsson N, Cullen NC, Andreasson U, Zetterberg H, Blennow K. JAMA Neurol.
  2019 Jul 1;76(7):791-799. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.0765. PMID: 31009028 Free PMC article.
• Diagnostic Value of Cerebrospinal Fluid Neurofilament Light Protein in Neurology: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
  Bridel C, van Wieringen WN, Zetterberg H, Tijms BM, Teunissen CE; and the NFL Group, Alvarez-Cermeño JC, Andreasson U, Axelsson M, Bäckström DC, Bartos A, Bjerke M, Blennow K, Boxer A, Brundin L, Burman J, Christensen T, Fialová L, Forsgren L, Frederiksen JL, Gisslén M, Gray E, Gunnarsson M, Hall S, Hansson O, Herbert MK, Jakobsson J, Jessen-Krut J, Janelidze S, Johannsson G, Jonsson M, Kappos L, Khademi M, Khalil M, Kuhle J, Landén M, Leinonen V, Logroscino G, Lu CH, Lycke J, Magdalinou NK, Malaspina A, Mattsson N, Meeter LH, Mehta SR, Modvig S, Olsson T, Paterson RW, Pérez-Santiago J, Piehl F, Pijnenburg YAL, Pyykkö OT, Ragnarsson O, Rojas JC, Romme Christensen J, Sandberg L, Scherling CS, Schott JM, Sellebjerg FT, Simone IL, Skillbäck T, Stilund M, Sundström P, Svenningsson A, Tortelli R, Tortorella C, Trentini A, Troiano M, Turner MR, van Swieten JC, Vågberg M, Verbeek MM, Villar LM, Visser PJ, Wallin A, Weiss A, Wikkelsø C, Wild EJ. JAMA Neurol.
  2019 Jun 17;76(9):1035-48. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.1534. Online ahead of print. PMID: 31206160 Free PMC article.
• Cerebrospinal fluid and plasma biomarker trajectories with increasing amyloid deposition in Alzheimer's disease.
  Palmqvist S, Insel PS, Stomrud E, Janelidze S, Zetterberg H, Brix B, Eichenlaub U, Dage JL, Chai X, Blennow K, Mattsson N, Hansson O. EMBO Mol Med.
  2019 Dec;11(12):e11170. doi: 10.15252/emmm.201911170. Epub 2019 Nov 11. PMID: 31709776 Free PMC article.
• Cerebrospinal fluid p-tau217 performs better than p-tau181 as a biomarker of Alzheimer's disease.
  Janelidze S, Stomrud E, Smith R, Palmqvist S, Mattsson N, Airey DC, Proctor NK, Chai X, Shcherbinin S, Sims JR, Triana-Baltzer G, Theunis C, Slemmon R, Mercken M, Kolb H, Dage JL, Hansson O. Nat Commun.
  2020 Apr 3;11(1):1683. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-15436-0. PMID: 32246036 Free PMC article.
• Association of Plasma Neurofilament Light With Neurodegeneration in Patients With Alzheimer Disease.
  Mattsson N, Andreasson U, Zetterberg H, Blennow K; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. JAMA Neurol.
  2017 May 1;74(5):557-566. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.6117. PMID: 28346578 Free PMC article.
• Biomarkers for tau pathology.
  Schöll M, Maass A, Mattsson N, Ashton NJ, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, Jagust W. Mol Cell Neurosci.
  2019 Jun;97:18-33. doi: 10.1016/j.mcn.2018.12.001. Epub 2018 Dec 7. PMID: 30529601 Free PMC article. Review.
• Performance of Fully Automated Plasma Assays as Screening Tests for Alzheimer Disease-Related β-Amyloid Status.
  Palmqvist S, Janelidze S, Stomrud E, Zetterberg H, Karl J, Zink K, Bittner T, Mattsson N, Eichenlaub U, Blennow K, Hansson O. JAMA Neurol.
  2019 Jun 24;76(9):1060-9. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.1632. Online ahead of print. PMID: 31233127 Free PMC article.

More publications by Niklas Mattsson are available on the National Library of Medicine website.