PhD Student Narges Zafari presented her work at the 2025 Optimizing Scientific Careers in Alzheimer's Research (OSCAR) symposium and was honored for the poster "Genome-wide association analyses Reveal Novel and Established Genetic Loci Associated with Plasma Phosphorylated-tau217".
"It was a great honor for Narges and my research group to be recognized among our peers," said Human Genetics Faculty Member Ilyas
Kamboh of his student's award. "These novel findings may help to further refine the use of plasma p-Tau217 levels as an early diagnostic biomarker for Alzheimer's Disease," he noted, mentioning that the research team was also preparing a manuscript for publication.
"I have long been interested in developing non-invasive biomarkers for early detection and prevention of disease, and a central question has consistently driven my work: 'how does our genome contribute to variation in these biomarkers?'" Zafari explained.
She considers herself fortunate for being able to join Kamboh's lab, the Biomarkers and Neurogenetics Core, where she can investigate that question in the context of plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease. "I am deeply grateful to Dr. Kamboh and also to Dr. Kang-Hsien Fan for their exceptional mentorship and guidance throughout this research," Narges added.
Zafari's dissertation work focuses on identifying novel genes and genetic variants that influence the risk of Alzheimer's disease through modulating the levels of associated plasma biomarkers and she explained that this current study focused on the genetic determinants of the p-Tau217 biomarker, an emerging early diagnostic for detecting the deposition of amyloid plaques in the brain-one key pathology.
The symposium was sponsored by the Research Education Component core of the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. The primary goal of the core is to identify, attract, and promote the career development of investigators in Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias and the symposium provides a platform for interaction within the local research community.
-Caitlin McCullough
