Laura Ibanez, PhD
Assistant Professor, WashU Psychiatry
- Phone: 314-273-3641
- Email: ibanezl@nospam.wustl.edu
Building Predictive Models for Neurodegenerative Diseases
In brief, the Ibanez laboratory research interests are focused understanding the role of RNA species with a focus on the non-coding RNAs to understand the role of the regulome in the development, progression, and diagnostic of neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Currently, we are leading the research into prediction of pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease using plasma high-throughput RNAseq data in combination with Machine Learning techniques. We are expanding our knowledge on transcriptomic regulatory mechanisms involved in pathology by comprehensively studying the RNA composition of post-mortem brain samples, from coding RNA, to long and short non-coding, and including circular RNAs and their chemical modifications. As part of the interest in the preclinical phases of disease, the laboratory hosts the Fluid Biomarker core for the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer’s Network Observational study and Trials Unit. The main expertise of the team is processing and analysis of high-throughput data, especially proteomic and transcriptomic based data.