Webinar Description:

Neuroinflammation is a complex, highly coordinated communication network that has an important role following peripheral and central nervous system (CNS) infection or injury yet can be both a driver and consequence of CNS diseases. A better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying neuroinflammation is needed to explicate complex disease states and translate from neuroinflammation to the development of novel therapeutics.

Technologies and analytical platforms for profiling cells at the genomic, epigenomic, metabolomic, proteomic, and transcriptomic level are transforming our ability to study brain disease. In this webinar, we will discuss multi-omics approaches to advance our understanding of neuroinflammation in the context of a systems biology framework, with the potential to identify common and distinct mechanisms and pathways shared across neuropsychiatric conditions.

Dr. Andreas Jeromin will introduce current research employing a mechanisms-based framework as a basis for the characterization of brain diseases. A primary goal of these efforts is to apply a transdiagnostic approach to the reclassification and stratification of brain disease, which can enable the discovery, replication, and validation of biomarker pathways, with a focus on neuroinflammatory systems.

Deep phenotyping is believed to require multi-omics data integration and biomarker identification and replication, facilitated by employing high precision validated assay platforms and pipelines. To this end, Cohen Veterans Bioscience has conducted a cross-platform comparison study involving five immunoassay platforms to evaluate their ability to detect fluid-based biomarkers, specifically cytokines in plasma and serum samples from clinical and control populations. Dr. Lasseter will highlight findings from this recent study and their importance for enabling future biomarker discovery.

Through a case study leveraging samples from trauma-exposed individuals with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Dr. Jennifer Sumner will then discuss current evidence for bi-directional regulation of inflammation based on recent longitudinal studies. Dr. Sumner will integrate findings in a multi-dimensional framework, bringing together genetic, epigenetic, and gene expression data to understand the role of inflammation in PTSD and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Through this webinar you will learn how optimizing multi-omics analytical techniques paired with a systems biology approach can allow for reclassification of brain diseases and provide insight into the future of biomarker discovery and replication.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss how biomarker-driven multi-omics approaches are informing our mechanistic understanding of neuroinflammation and potentially allow for a re-classification of these dieases.
• Discuss why current biomarker findings in the literature are discordant and the factors that contribute to a lack of replicability in published findings.
• Discuss current progress in comparing technical assays for measurement of inflammation markers and how these may inform future research endeavors.
• Discuss the evidence for a bi-directional regulation of inflammation by integrating findings from epigenetics and gene expression studies with a systems biology approach.

Speakers:

Jennifer A. Sumner, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
UCLA

Dr. Jennifer Sumner is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychology at UCLA. Her program of research lies at the intersection of the psychological and physical health consequences of trauma exposure. Dr. Sumner received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Pomona College and her Masters and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Northwestern University. She completed her predoctoral internship program at the Charleston Consortium (Traumatic Stress Track) and received postdoctoral training as an Epidemiology Merit Fellow at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Prior to joining UCLA, Dr. Sumner was an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Medicine at the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health at Columbia University Medical Center.

Heather Lasseter, PhD
Associate Director, Translational Science
Cohen Veterans Bioscience

Dr. Heather Lasseter earned her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the field of behavioral neuroscience. As a doctoral candidate in Dr. Rita Fuchs’ laboratory, Heather Lasseter explored the neural circuity that regulates the ability of a drug-paired context to produce cocaine-seeking behavior in a preclinical model of addiction, with her doctoral dissertation earning the 2012 Linda Dykstra Distinguished Dissertation Award in Social Sciences. After earning her doctoral degree, Dr. Lasseter was awarded a post-doctoral Health Communications Fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. She subsequently transitioned into the medical communications community, working with Cohen Veterans Bioscience as a consulting medical writer for several years. Dr. Lasseter officially joined Cohen Veterans Bioscience in 2017 and is now an Associate Director in Translational Sciences.

Andreas Jeromin, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Cohen Veterans Bioscience

Andreas Jeromin, PhD, has established research programs in translational neuroscience in both industry and biotech for the last 25 years and co-authored more than 200 publications. He has also been elected a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. Andreas Jeromin has led biomarker qualification programs in diagnostics and therapeutics in acute neurological injury and neurodegeneration in roles with increased responsibilities. He has also provided leadership and several strategic biomarker initiatives in different roles as member of the SABs or steering committee such as the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) , the Coalition against Major Diseases (CAMD) directed by the Critical Path Institute (C-PATH), the Alzheimer’s Association CSF QC and biomarker assay standardization and harmonization He is the founder and CSO of Atlantic Biomarkers, LLC, and joined Quanterix, Inc. as scientific and medical advisor in 2014. Andreas Jeromin joined Cohen Veterans Biosciences as Chief Scientific Officer in January 2018.

Cost: No Cost!