Josefine Waldthaler

Josefine Waldthaler

Postdoctoral Researcher
Visiting address: Nobels väg 9, D2, 17165 Solna
Postal address: K8 Klinisk neurovetenskap, K8 Neuro Lundqvist Waldthaler, 171 77 Stockholm
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About me

  • I am a Team Leader for Functional Neuroimaging in Movement Disoders in Daniel Lundqvist's reasearch group at the Neuro Division of CNS interested in the cognitive and behavioral aspects of Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. I did my doctoral training at the University of Regensburg and postdoctoral training as a SUCCESS fellow at Philipps-University Marburg. As a board-certified neurologist, I work 50% of my time as a movement disorders specialist at Academic Specialist Centre Stockholm.

    I am also afliated with Philipps University Marburg and the Department of Neurology at University Hospital Marburg where I hold an appointment as docent ("Privatdozent") and am involved in teaching and collaborate on research projects.

    Our current research focuses on changes in brain activity in Parkinson's disease and their modulation by dopamine replacement therapy and deep brain stimulation (DBS) with the goal of improving our understanding of the complex interplay between motor, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The primary tools we are using to pursue these goals are magneto- / electroencephalography (M/EEG) in combination with eye-tracking and in-depth clinical characterisations including neuropsychological assessments.

    As a postdoc at the Swedish National Facility for Magnetoencephalography (NatMEG), I consider myself the bridge from NatMEG into the clinics. I assist researchers with initiating, planning and running projects in clinical populations. 

Selected publications

Articles

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Grants

  • Swedish Research Council
    1 December 2024 - 30 November 2027
    There is increasing evidence suggesting that the clinical presentation of Parkinson´s disease (PD) is influenced by complex interactions between neurodegeneration and potentially counteracting mechanisms. However, these compensatory mechanisms have not received much attention in terms of their potential therapeutic value. studies examining the interaction between nigrostriatal degeneration and cerebral compensation and its failure as a potential driver of early-stage PD symptoms and progression are lacking.Our multinational consortium, comprised of experts in molecular and structural brain imaging and neurophysiology with extensive research experience in movement disorders, aims to address this gap. Together, we have developed five work packages that primarily focus on analysing multimodal imaging data in existing cohorts of early PD patients. Our goal is to identify neurobiological patterns that characterise early PD and how nigrostriatal neurodegeneration and cerebral counteracting mechanismscontribute to specific features of early disease, such as motor or cognitive symptom burden. By validating these emerging concepts with cross-national data and protocol sharing, our aim is to establish a foundation for staging models that integrate both neurodegenerative and compensatory aspects of the brain. Additionally, these findings may enhance the translational potential of possible therapies that target both processes.

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