Luana Naia

I am a geneticist and biotechnologist with a PhD in Neuroscience, specializing in mitochondrial structure and metabolism in neurodegeneration. I earned my PhD from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra (Portugal) in 2017, supported by a competitive four-year grant from the Portuguese Science Foundation. My thesis focused on the nuclear regulation of mitochondrial function through lysine deacetylases in Huntington’s disease.

From 2017 to 2018, I conducted postdoctoral research funded by Teva Pharma, investigating the effects of a drug in clinical development for Huntington’s disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis on mitochondrial and neuronal function. In 2018, I joined Karolinska Institutet, where I studied mitochondria–endoplasmic reticulum contacts in Alzheimer’s disease models.

In 2022, I was appointed Assistant Professor and secured competitive starting grants from the Swedish Research Council and the Strategic Area for Neuroscience. I now lead an independent line of research that employs advanced metabolic assessments, super-resolution imaging, and computational analysis to investigate mitochondrial architecture, dynamics, and transfer, and their correlation with synaptic failure in Alzheimer’s disease.

´ Mitochondria are the clandestine rulers of our world`

Our research focuses on mitochondrial dynamics and organelle crosstalk, particularly their role in bioenergetic dysregulation in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We utilize metabolic assessments, super-resolution imaging, and computational analysis in both mouse models and human iPSC-derived organoids. 

Currently, our team is leading two main projects:

·       Mitochondrial transfer via mitochondria-derived vesicles (mitoEVs): We investigate the potential of mitoEVs as both a therapeutic strategy and a biomarker for disease progression.

·       Spatial and temporal mapping of mitochondria in diseased astrocytes: Using deep-learning models, we aim to identify mitochondrial features and functions that best correlate with bioenergetic decline and synaptic failure.

·      Coordinating and lecturing the PhD course Alzheimer’s disease: clinical features and pathogenic mechanisms (Karolinska Institutet) (2022-present)
·      Lecturing Cell death mechanisms in the PhD course Protein Mechanisms in Health and Disease, from the Clinical Research School in Molecular Medicine (Karolinska Institutet) (2019-present)
·      Lecturing Teaching Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration in the Master programme in Biomedicine (Karolinska Institutet) (2018-present)

·      Lecturing Movement and central brain control in the PhD course Advances in cellular, molecular and cognitive neuroscience: From brain to bench and beyond (Karolinska Institutet) (2019-2022)

·      Lecturing Brain energy in health and disease in a  Global Shared Learning classroom: Workshop a brief introduction to the nervous system in physiology and pathology (2023-2024)