Franziska Albrecht

Franziska Albrecht

Assistant Professor
Telephone: +46852488816
Visiting address: Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 14183 Huddinge
Postal address: H1 Neurobiologi, vårdvetenskap och samhälle, H1 Fysioterapi Franzen, 171 77 Stockholm

About me

Research

  • For my research, I have applied data-driven methods ranging from meta-analyses, voxel-based morphometry, and machine learning to graph theory to investigate disease-specific neural correlates of neurodegenerative diseases as well as predict such syndromes individually.

    During my Ph.D. work, I conducted quantitative and systematic meta-analyses on neuroimaging data to identify disease-specific patterns that can disentangle clinically hard distinguishable Parkinsonian syndromes. Further, I worked on multi-centric neuroimaging data from the German Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Research Consortium. I used supervised machine learning to discriminate clinical syndrome and unique symptoms in single patients.

    As a postdoc, I worked on neuroimaging and behavioral analyses of a large randomized controlled trial that compared a highly challenging balance and gait training with an intense speech and voice training in people with Parkinson’s disease. I applied multi-level analyses, voxel-based morphometry, effective functional connectivity analyses, and structural covariance networks to investigate behavioral and brain changes. Taking a step towards personalized medicine, I used the aforementioned multi-modal dataset of neuroimaging, clinical, motor, and cognitive variables to identify Parkinson’s disease subtypes using unsupervised machine learning.

Teaching

  • Besides my research work, I am passionate about and active in education at Karolinska Institutet. I was awarded the ’Pedagogical Ambassador in Doctoral Education’ at Karolinska Institutet grant for 2024. Further, I have experience giving lectures, IT hands-on practices, seminars, and exam grading in several doctoral and master courses. Since 2021, with a colleague, I have been organizing a monthly journal club for the Ph.D. students at the Division of Physiotherapy. Since 2021, I have been part of the "Methods for systematic review- from idea to project plan" course where I have held lectures, done seminar supervision, and proofread/ graded assignments. I am further part of the bi-annual doctoral course "Imaging in neuroscience: with a focus on structural MRI methods" where I facilitate lectures and IT hands-on practices/ software demonstration using sMRI analysis software. Additionally, I have held a lecture within the doctoral education module ’Neurodegenerative Disorders I - From Molecule to Treatment’, yearly since 2021. 

Selected publications

Articles

All other publications

  • Preprint: MEDRXIV. 2025
    Manser P; Hardeman LES; Wallin A; Conradsson DM; Leavy B; Albrecht F; Roerdink M; Temprado J-J; de Bruin E; Franzen E
  • Review: NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL. 2025;45:103733
    Albrecht F; Kvist A; Franzen E
  • Preprint: METAARXIV. 2024
    Yücel MA; Luke R; Mesquita RC; von Lühmann A; Mehler DMA; Lührs M; Gemignani J; Abdalmalak A; Albrecht F; Almeida I; Artemenko C; Ashton K; Augustynowicz P; Bajracharya A; Bannier E; Barth B; Bayet L; Behrendt J; Khani HB; Borot L; Borrell J; Brigadoi S; Brink K; Bulgarelli C; Caruyer E; Chen H-C; Copeland C; Corouge I; Cutini S; Di Lorenzo R; Dresler T; Eggebrecht A; Ehl A-C; Erdoğan S; Evenblij D; Ferdous TR; Fracalossi V; Franzén E; Gallagher A; Gerloff C; Gervain J; Goldhamer N; Gossé L; Guérin S; Guevara E; Hosseini H; Innes-Brown H; Int-Veen I; Jaffe-Dax S; Jégou N; Kawaguchi H; Kelsey C; Kent M; Kessler R; Kherbawy N; Klein F; Kochavi N; Kolisnyk M; Koren Y; Kroczek A; Kvist A; Lin C; Löw A; Luan S; Mao D; Martins G; Middell E; Montero-Hernandez SA; Mutlu MC; Novi S; Paquette N; Paranawithana I; Parmet Y; Peelle J; Peng K; Peng T; Pereira J; Pinti P; Pollonini L; Jounghani AR; Reindl V; Zweerings J; Schopp B; Schulte A; Schulte-Rüther M; Segel A; Seifi-Ala T; Shader M; Shavit H; Sherafati A; Soltanlou M; Sorger B; Speh E; Stubbs K; Stute K; Sullivan E; Tak S; Tipado Z; Tremblay J; Vahidi H; Van Eeckhoutte M; Vannasing P; Vergotte G; Vincent M; Weiss E; Yang D; Yükselen G; Zapała D; Zemanek V
  • Preprint: METAARXIV. 2024
    Yücel MA; Luke R; Mesquita RC; von Lühmann A; Mehler DMA; Lührs M; Gemignani J; Abdalmalak A; Albrecht F; Almeida I; Artemenko C; Ashton K; Augustynowicz P; Bajracharya A; Bannier E; Barth B; Bayet L; Behrendt J; Khani HB; Borot L; Borrell J; Brigadoi S; Brink K; Bulgarelli C; Caruyer E; Chen H-C; Copeland C; Corouge I; Cutini S; Di Lorenzo R; Dresler T; Eggebrecht A; Ehl A-C; Erdoğan S; Evenblij D; Ferdous TR; Fracalossi V; Franzén E; Gallagher A; Gerloff C; Gervain J; Goldhamer N; Gossé L; Guérin S; Guevara E; Hosseini H; Innes-Brown H; Int-Veen I; Jaffe-Dax S; Jégou N; Kawaguchi H; Kelsey C; Kent M; Kessler R; Kherbawy N; Klein F; Kochavi N; Kolisnyk M; Koren Y; Kroczek A; Kvist A; Lin C; Löw A; Luan S; Mao D; Martins G; Middell E; Montero-Hernandez SA; Mutlu MC; Novi S; Paquette N; Paranawithana I; Parmet Y; Peelle J; Peng K; Peng T; Pereira J; Pinti P; Pollonini L; Jounghani AR; Reindl V; Zweerings J; Schopp B; Schulte A; Schulte-Rüther M; Segel A; Seifi-Ala T; Shader M; Shavit H; Sherafati A; Soltanlou M; Sorger B; Speh E; Stubbs K; Stute K; Sullivan E; Tak S; Tipado Z; Tremblay J; Vahidi H; Van Eeckhoutte M; Vannasing P; Vergotte G; Vincent M; Weiss E; Yang D; Yükselen G; Zapała D; Zemanek V
  • Preprint: RESEARCH SQUARE. 2024
    Inguanzo A; Mohanty R; Poulakis K; Ferreira D; Segura B; Albrecht F; Muehlboeck J-S; Granberg T; Sjostrom H; Svenningsson P; Franzen E; Junque C; Westman E
  • Preprint: PSYARXIV. 2022
    Schiller D; Yu ANC; Alia-Klein N; Becker S; Cromwell HC; Dolcos F; Eslinger PJ; Frewen P; Kemp AH; Pace-Schott E; Raber J; Silton RL; Stefanova E; Williams JHG; Abe N; Aghajani M; Albrecht F; Alexander R; Anders S; Aragón OR; Arias JA; Arzy S; Aue T; Baez S; Balconi M; Ballarini T; Bannister S; Amole MC; Barrett KC; Belzung C; Bensafi M; Booij L; Bookwala J; Boulanger-Bertolus J; Boutros SW; Bräscher A-K; Bruno A; Busatto G; Bylsma L; Caldwell-Harris C; Chan RCK; Cherbuin N; Chiarella J; Cipresso P; Critchley HD; Croote D; Demaree HA; Denson TF; Depue B; Dernt B; Dickson JM; Dolcos S; Drach-Zahavy A; Dubljević O; Eerola T; Ellingsen D-M; Fairfield B; Ferdenzi C; Scarpa-Friedman BH; Fu CHY; Gatt J; de Gelder B; Gendolla GHE; Gilam G; Goldblatt H; Kotynski A; Gosseries O; Hamm AO; Hanson JL; Hendler T; Herbert C; Hofmann SG; Ibanez A; Joffily M; Jovanovic T; Kahrilas IJ; Kangas M; Katsumi Y; Kensinger E; Kirby LAJ; Koncz R; Koster EHW; Kozlowska K; Krach S; Kret M; Krippl M; Kusi-Mensah K; Ladouceur CD; Laureys S; Lawrence A; Li C-SR; Liddell B; Lidhar NK; Lowry CA; Magee K; Marin M-F; Mariotti V; Martin L; Marusak HA; Mayer AV; Merner AR; Minnier J; Moll J; Morrison R; Moore M; Mouly A-M; Mueller SC; Mühlberger A; Murphy NA; Muscatello MRA; Musser ED; Newton TL; Noll-Hussong M; Norrholm SD; Northoff G; Nusslock R; Okon-Singer H; Olino TM; Ortner CNM; Owolabi M; Padulo C; Palermo R; Palumbo R; Palumbo S; Papadelis C; Pegna AJ; Pellegrini S; Peltonen K; Penninx B; Pietrini P; Pinna G; Pintos Lobo R; Polnaszek KL; Polyakova M; Rabinak C; Richter H; Richter T; Riva G; Rizzo A; Robinson JL; Rosa P; Sachdev P; Satomi W; Schroeter ML; Schweizer S; Shiban Y; Siddharthan A; Siedlecka E; Smith RC; Soreq H; Spangler DP; Stern ER; Styliadis C; Sullivan GB; Swain JE; Urben S; Van den Stock J; van der Kooij MA; van Overveld M; Van Rheenen T; VanElzakker MB; Ventura-Bort C; Verona E; Volk T; Wang Y; Weingast LT; Weymar M; Williams C; Willis M; Yamashita P; Zahn R; Zupan B; Lowe L
  • Preprint: PSYARXIV. 2022
    Schiller D; Yu ANC; Alia-Klein N; Becker S; Cromwell HC; Dolcos F; Eslinger PJ; Frewen P; Kemp AH; Pace-Schott E; Raber J; Silton RL; Stefanova E; Williams JHG; Abe N; Aghajani M; Albrecht F; Alexander R; Anders S; Aragón OR; Arias JA; Arzy S; Aue T; Baez S; Balconi M; Ballarini T; Bannister S; Amole MC; Barrett KC; Belzung C; Bensafi M; Booij L; Bookwala J; Boulanger-Bertolus J; Boutros SW; Bräscher A-K; Bruno A; Busatto G; Bylsma L; Caldwell-Harris C; Chan RCK; Cherbuin N; Chiarella J; Cipresso P; Critchley H; Croote D; Demaree HA; Denson TF; Depue B; Dernt B; Dickson JM; Dolcos S; Drach-Zahavy A; Dubljević O; Eerola T; Ellingsen D-M; Fairfield B; Ferdenzi C; Scarpa-Friedman BH; Fu CHY; Gatt J; de Gelder B; Gendolla GHE; Gilam G; Goldblatt H; Kotynski A; Gosseries O; Hamm AO; Hanson JL; Hendler T; Herbert C; Hofmann SG; Ibanez A; Joffily M; Jovanovic T; Kahrilas IJ; Kangas M; Katsumi Y; Kensinger E; Kirby LAJ; Koncz R; Koster EHW; Kozlowska K; Krach S; Kret M; Krippl M; Kusi-Mensah K; Ladouceur CD; Laureys S; Lawrence A; Li C-SR; Liddell B; Lidhar NK; Lowry CA; Magee K; Marin M-F; Mariotti V; Martin L; Marusak HA; Mayer AV; Merner AR; Minnier J; Moll J; Morrison R; Moore M; Mouly A-M; Mueller SC; Mühlberger A; Murphy NA; Muscatello MRA; Musser ED; Newton TL; Noll-Hussong M; Norrholm SD; Northoff G; Nusslock R; Okon-Singer H; Olino TM; Ortner CNM; Owolabi M; Padulo C; Palermo R; Palumbo R; Palumbo S; Papadelis C; Pegna AJ; Pellegrini S; Peltonen K; Penninx B; Pietrini P; Pinna G; Pintos Lobo R; Polnaszek KL; Polyakova M; Rabinak C; Richter SH; Richter T; Riva G; Rizzo A; Robinson JL; Rosa P; Sachdev PS; Satomi W; Schroeter ML; Schweizer S; Shiban Y; Siddharthan A; Siedlecka E; Smith RC; Soreq H; Spangler DP; Stern ER; Styliadis C; Sullivan GB; Swain JE; Urben S; Van den Stock J; van der Kooij MA; van Overveld M; Van Rheenen T; VanElzakker MB; Ventura-Bort C; Verona E; Volk T; Wang Y; Weingast LT; Weymar M; Williams C; Willis M; Yamashita P; Zahn R; Zupan B; Lowe L
  • Review: NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS. 2020;113:308-324
    Stefanova E; Dubljevic O; Herbert C; Fairfield B; Schroeter ML; Stern ER; Urben S; Derntl B; Wiebking C; Brown C; Drach-Zahavy A; Loeffler LAK; Albrecht F; Palumbo R; Boutros SW; Raber J; Lowe L
  • Preprint: SSRN ELECTRONIC JOURNAL. 2018
    Albrecht F; Bisenius S; Neumann J; Whitwell JL; Schroeter ML
  • Conference publication: JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY. 2016;138:362-363
    Albrecht F; Bisenius S; Schaack RM; Schroeter M

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2026
    Life means combining motor-cognitive skills, e.g., walking, talking and navigating. Aging or neurological diseases, e.g., Parkinson’s disease (PD) compromises these skills needed for an independent life. It is uncertain which brain alterations lead to these difficulties and how to target these heterogenous motor-cognitive difficulties. Current treatments apply a "one-size-fits-all" approach, which needs to evolve towards personalized rehabilitation, reaching beyond a simple adaption to disease severity.Our multimodal project combines physiotherapy, neurology, psychology and neuroimaging to characterize motor-cognitive skills during complex walking, identify underlying brain alterations and subtype PD to inform a novel exercise approach for people with PD. This 5 years proposal has 4 stages: 1) Exploring brain alterations and links to the motor-cognitive skills in healthy and PD 2) PD subtyping using neuroimaging, motor, cognitive and clinical data 3) Characterization of exercise responsiveness in PD and 4) Development and testing of a personalized motor-cognitive exercise program. We combine novel techniques for data collection with in-depth analysis of existing data (EXPANd trial). The results will have an immediate application and clinical relevance for personalized rehabilitation in older and PD. There is no cure for PD yet, thus positive findings would revolutionize treatment, giving new hope to patients for a life with improved health, independence and higher quality.

Employments

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, 2024-2030
  • Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, 2019-2024

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