Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira receives 3.1 million DKK from DFF
The grant is intended for the project “Brain-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Dual Diagnosis: Liquid Biopsy as a Promising Framework for Advancing Research and Treatment in Psychiatry” and was selected by The Independent Research Fund Denmark's Committee for Thematic research – Better framework for psychiatry.
Rodrigo’s research project aims to characterize the extracellular miRNA-protein interactions associated with Substance Use Disorders (SUD) with and without Major Depression (MDD), using Brain-Derived Extracellular Vesicles (BDEs) isolated from postmortem brain tissue and blood samples of living patients.
BDEs, serving as potential biomarkers, carry biomolecular cargo representative of their originating cell's physiological condition. Initial data indicate distinct protein cargo enrichment patterns associated with neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and aging in SUD individuals.
They hypothesize that these plasma-based nanotools could function as neuropathology markers in SUD and dual diagnosis, thereby enhancing our understanding of these disorders' underlying mechanisms and pointing to potential new therapeutic targets.
This method offers the possibility for real-time tracking of disorder progression and treatment response, underscoring the importance of liquid biopsy techniques in the field of Psychiatry.
You can read more about the Independent Research Fund Denmark on their website.
Contact
Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira
Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Aarhus University
rogo@clin.au.dk