Anna Marseglia

Anna Marseglia is an Assistant Professor at Karolinska Institutet within the NVS Department, Division of Clinical Geriatrics. She is a Neuropsychologist and holds a PhD in aging epidemiology (2018). Her reserach is located in the Westman Neuroimaging Group, with a multidisciplinary focus on cognitive disorders arising from neurodegenerative (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease) and cerebrovascular disorders.

Anna Marseglia welcomes applications for research internships, exchanges, and student thesis on an ongoing basis. If you are interested, please reach out via email.

EDUCATION
2018, Ph.D. in medical science - aging epidemiology, Aging Research Center (ARC), NVS, KI. Thesis “The impact of diabetes on cognitive aging and dementia”.
2012-present, Licensed psychologist - Register of Psychologists of Puglia, Italy (No. 4473).
2011, Residency training in neuropsychology, Department of Neurology, Padua University Hospital, Italy
2009, M.Sc. in Psychology (clinical psychology), Padua University, Italy.

RESEARCH APPOINTMENTS

2024-present, Research Collaborator at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.

2024-present, Assistant Professor, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, NVS, KI.

POSTDOCTORAL ASSIGNMENTS 

OTHER PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

2024-present, Associate Editor for Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. 

2018-2019, Postdoctoral research assistent (doktorandanställning), ARC, NVS, KI. 

In her work, Anna Marseglia harnesses multi-dimensional data from diverse population- and clinical-based cohorts uch as the Gothenburg H70-85 Birth Cohort Studies, the UK Biobank, the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, Karolinska Imaging Dementia Study. These datasets are instrumental in advancing projects within her areas of interest outlined below.

1) Mechanisms underlying cognitive disorders related to cardiometabolic comorbidities.
Improve our understanding of the interplay between comorbid cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, and their associated risk factors, on cognitive and brain health. Investigating the molecular and structural alterations in the brain associated with (vascular) cognitive disorders. These projects utilize neuroimaging techniques (e.g., , MRI and DTI) to identify biomarkers of vascular-related brain tissue injury, alongside blood biomarkers of inflammation, glucose, and lipid metabolism. Addressing their intersection with neurodegerative disease (e.g., Alzheimer's).

2) Mechanisms of cognitive/brain resilience.
Determining how factors promoting resilience throughout the lifespan influence cognitive aging. Investigating the interrelationships between biological markers of resilience mechanisms—such as cognitive reserve and brain maintenance identified through an in-house deep learning-based brain model—and their interaction with neurodegeneration, cerebrovascular pathology, modifiable life exposures, and molecular alterations. Additionally, examining how these interactions influence cognition.

3) Sex differences in vascular cognitive impairment.
Delving into the influence of sex differences on (vascular) cognitive disorders and resilience mechanisms, with a dedicated focus on sex-specific biological factors like hormones, alongside socio-cultural determinants. Projects in this area aim to ascertain the degree to which these factors contribute to cognitive health disparities between sexes within the context of vascular cognitive disorders and possible compensating pathways.

These projects involve collaborations with experts in diverse dementia research fields. Anna Marseglia's active involvement in leading organizations such as the International Society of Vascular Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders (VasCog), the Alzheimer's Association ISTAART, and the SAIN-SWEAH Alumni Interdisciplinary Network helps facilitate collaborations.


RESEARCH GRANTS
Anna Marseglia's reserach is funded by the Center for Innovative Medicine (CIMED), Strategic Research Area Neuroscience (StratNeuro), David och Astrid Hageléns Stiftelsen, NIH (subaward GG013391-01), Loo och Hans Ostermans stiftelse, Foundation for Geriatric Diseases at Karolinska Institute, Stiftelsen för Gamla Tjänarinnor, and Kvinnor och Hälsa Stiftelsen.


LEADERSHIP, COLLABORATIONS, AND OTHER MERITS
Anna Marseglia has an extensive network of active collaborations in Sweden and internationally (e.g. Gothenburg University, USA-Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center and Mayo Clinic Rochester, Australia-University of New South Wales, Netherlands-Radboud University Medical Center and Erasmus MC Rotterdam, UK-University College London). She co-led a work package within the JPND’s SHARED consortium and serves as principal investigator for a 3-year UK-Biobank project (KI-Dnr: 4-352/2023), coordinator of the H70-88 MRI cohorts (KI side), co-led the VasCog Early Career Investigator group with Hilde van den Brink. She co-organizes on regular basis seminars and workshops within the Division of Clinical Geriatrics and at the Center for Alzheimer Research at KI.

She serves as external reviewer for international grant and conference abstracts (e.g., AAIC, VasCog), referee for top-tier scientific journals in the fields or neurology and geriatrics (e.g Alzheimers Dementia, Diabetes Care, Neurology, Ageing Res Rev), topic editor (e.g., Frontiers in Neuroscience), examiner of theses in Sweden (e.g., KI-Master’s programme in Public Health) and abroad (e.g., Universidad de La Laguna-Spain, University of Valencia-Spain, La Trobe University-Australia). 

(3) Chair Postdoc member, NVS Institutionsråd (2020-2024)

(4) Member of the Alzheimer’s Association’s ISTAART PIAs: Vascular, Sex and Gender, Reserve and Resilience, Design and data analytics, Nutrition metabolism (2018-ongoing).