Renzo Mancuso won the award for his findings on microglia and neuroinflammation, which play a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. A young Italian-Argentine biologist, Renzo Marcuso works with Pr. Bart de Strooper at the VIB UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology in the Netherlands. His primary focus has been on examining the underlying molecular mechanisms that drive Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), with a special emphasis on inflammatory networks and particularly the contribution of microglia. He uses mouse models, iPSC and cutting-edge humanized mouse systems to determine the immune component of these disorders and determine how genetics alter microglial function and contribute to the initiation and perpetuation of brain disease. 

The jury, composed of renowned European researchers, was chaired by Pr. Jean-François Dartigues of the Bordeaux Population Health Research Center. Commenting on the award, André Levy-Lang, Chairman of the SCOR Foundation for Science, said: “Advances in Alzheimer’s disease research, which the SCOR Foundation has supported for many years, play a key role in managing the risks faced by older age groups. Professor Renzo Mancuso’s research is helping more specifically to expand our understanding of genetic brain dysfunctions.”

Renzo Mancuso on the French Alzheimer’s Research Foundation (Fondation Recherche Alzheimer) website.

Publications by Renzo Mancuso

• Spatial Transcriptomics and In Situ Sequencing to Study Alzheimer's Disease.
  Chen WT, Lu A, Craessaerts K, Pavie B, Sala Frigerio C, Corthout N, Qian X, Laláková J, Kühnemund M, Voytyuk I, Wolfs L, Mancuso R, Salta E, Balusu S, Snellinx A, Munck S, Jurek A, Fernandez Navarro J, Saido TC, Huitinga I, Lundeberg J, Fiers M, De Strooper B. Cell.
  2020 Aug 20;182(4):976-991.e19. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.06.038. Epub 2020 Jul 22. PMID: 32702314
• Microglia Require CD4 T Cells to Complete the Fetal-to-Adult Transition.
  Pasciuto E, Burton OT, Roca CP, Lagou V, Rajan WD, Theys T, Mancuso R, Tito RY, Kouser L, Callaerts-Vegh Z, de la Fuente AG, Prezzemolo T, Mascali LG, Brajic A, Whyte CE, Yshii L, Martinez-Muriana A, Naughton M, Young A, Moudra A, Lemaitre P, Poovathingal S, Raes J, De Strooper B, Fitzgerald DC, Dooley J, Liston A. Cell.
  2020 Aug 6;182(3):625-640.e24. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.06.026. Epub 2020 Jul 22. PMID: 32702313 Free PMC article.
• Stem-cell-derived human microglia transplanted in mouse brain to study human disease.
  Mancuso R, Van Den Daele J, Fattorelli N, Wolfs L, Balusu S, Burton O, Liston A, Sierksma A, Fourne Y, Poovathingal S, Arranz-Mendiguren A, Sala Frigerio C, Claes C, Serneels L, Theys T, Perry VH, Verfaillie C, Fiers M, De Strooper B. Nat Neurosci.
  2019 Dec;22(12):2111-2116. doi: 10.1038/s41593-019-0525-x. Epub 2019 Oct 28. PMID: 31659342
• The Major Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease: Age, Sex, and Genes Modulate the Microglia Response to Aβ Plaques.
  Sala Frigerio C, Wolfs L, Fattorelli N, Thrupp N, Voytyuk I, Schmidt I, Mancuso R, Chen WT, Woodbury ME, Srivastava G, Möller T, Hudry E, Das S, Saido T, Karran E, Hyman B, Perry VH, Fiers M, De Strooper B. Cell Rep.
  2019 Apr 23;27(4):1293-1306.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.03.099. PMID: 31018141 Free PMC article.
• Novel Alzheimer risk genes determine the microglia response to amyloid-β but not to TAU pathology.
  Sierksma A, Lu A, Mancuso R, Fattorelli N, Thrupp N, Salta E, Zoco J, Blum D, Buée L, De Strooper B, Fiers M. EMBO Mol Med.
  2020 Mar 6;12(3):e10606. doi: 10.15252/emmm.201910606. Epub 2020 Jan 17. PMID: 31951107 Free PMC article.
• Single-Nucleus RNA-Seq Is Not Suitable for Detection of Microglial Activation Genes in Humans.
  Thrupp N, Sala Frigerio C, Wolfs L, Skene NG, Fattorelli N, Poovathingal S, Fourne Y, Matthews PM, Theys T, Mancuso R, de Strooper B, Fiers M. Cell Rep.
  2020 Sep 29;32(13):108189. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108189. PMID: 32997994 Free PMC article.
• CSF1R inhibitor JNJ-40346527 attenuates microglial proliferation and neurodegeneration in P301S mice.
  Mancuso R, Fryatt G, Cleal M, Obst J, Pipi E, Monzón-Sandoval J, Ribe E, Winchester L, Webber C, Nevado A, Jacobs T, Austin N, Theunis C, Grauwen K, Daniela Ruiz E, Mudher A, Vicente-Rodriguez M, Parker CA, Simmons C, Cash D, Richardson J; NIMA Consortium, Jones DNC, Lovestone S, Gómez-Nicola D, Perry VH. Brain.
  2019 Oct 1;142(10):3243-3264. doi: 10.1093/brain/awz241. PMID: 31504240 Free PMC article.
• Inflammatory biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease plasma.
  Morgan AR, Touchard S, Leckey C, O'Hagan C, Nevado-Holgado AJ; NIMA Consortium, Barkhof F, Bertram L, Blin O, Bos I, Dobricic V, Engelborghs S, Frisoni G, Frölich L, Gabel S, Johannsen P, Kettunen P, Kłoszewska I, Legido-Quigley C, Lleó A, Martinez-Lage P, Mecocci P, Meersmans K, Molinuevo JL, Peyratout G, Popp J, Richardson J, Sala I, Scheltens P, Streffer J, Soininen H, Tainta-Cuezva M, Teunissen C, Tsolaki M, Vandenberghe R, Visser PJ, Vos S, Wahlund LO, Wallin A, Westwood S, Zetterberg H, Lovestone S, Morgan BP; Annex: NIMA–Wellcome Trust Consortium for Neuroimmunology of Mood Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimers Dement.
  2019 Jun;15(6):776-787. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2019.03.007. Epub 2019 Apr 30. PMID: 31047856 Free PMC article.
• Pharmacological targeting of CSF1R inhibits microglial proliferation and prevents the progression of Alzheimer's-like pathology.
  Olmos-Alonso A, Schetters ST, Sri S, Askew K, Mancuso R, Vargas-Caballero M, Holscher C, Perry VH, Gomez-Nicola D. Brain.
  2016 Mar;139(Pt 3):891-907. doi: 10.1093/brain/awv379. Epub 2016 Jan 8. PMID: 26747862 Free PMC article.
• Combined intramuscular and intraspinal transplant of bone marrow cells improves neuromuscular function in the SOD1G93A mice.
  Martínez-Muriana A, Pastor D, Mancuso R, Rando A, Osta R, Martínez S, López-Vales R, Navarro X. Stem Cell Res Ther.
  2020 Feb 7;11(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s13287-020-1573-6. PMID: 32033585 Free PMC article.

More publications by Renzo Mancuso are available on the National Library of Medicine website.