Brit Mollenhauer

Research Statement

AI generated · 6d ago

Brit Mollenhauer's research centers on fluid biomarkers for Parkinson's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders, with a particular emphasis on α-synuclein and tau in cerebrospinal fluid. Her early work on direct quantification of CSF α-synuclein by ELISA established a cross-sectional framework in neurodegeneration, and a subsequent cohort study of α-synuclein and tau concentrations in patients presenting with parkinsonism (623 citations) helped clarify how these analytes behave across parkinsonian syndromes. Later work extended this biomarker line toward progression and prediction, including serum neurofilament light chain as a marker of Parkinson's disease progression and, most recently, plasma proteomics for predicting Parkinson's disease up to seven years before symptom onset. Beyond her lead-author biomarker studies, she contributed as a middle author to major consensus and consortium efforts, including the Movement Disorder Society diagnostic criteria for dementia with Lewy bodies and the Parkinson Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) cohort framework, the latter reflecting her broader involvement in multicenter biomarker infrastructure. Her work on international standardization of CSF biobanking underscores a sustained methodological commitment to reproducible sample handling. No software, datasets, patents, or grants are indexed beyond her publications. Taken together, the named works trace a coherent arc from assay development and cohort characterization toward early, pre-symptomatic prediction—a trajectory shared with collaborators such as Daniel A. Weintraub in the dementia-with-Lewy-bodies consensus work.

Most Cited Works

Parkinson’s disease biomarkers based on α‐synuclein

Muneera Fayyad, Safa Salim, Nour Majbour, Daniel Erskine, Erik Stoops, Brit Mollenhauer, Omar M A El-Agnaf

Journal of Neurochemistry2019

157Citations

Plasma proteomics identify biomarkers predicting Parkinson’s disease up to 7 years before symptom onset

Jenny Hällqvist, Michael Bartl, Mohammed Dakna, Sebastian Schade, Paolo Garagnani, Maria-Giulia Bacalini, Chiara Pirazzini, Kailash Bhatia, Sebastian Schreglmann,

Research Areas

Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and TreatDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearNeurological disorders and treatmentsAlzheimer's disease research and treatmeNuclear Receptors and Signaling

Loading ORCID activity...

Sources

Research Statement

Most Cited Works

Parkinson’s disease biomarkers based on α‐synuclein

Plasma proteomics identify biomarkers predicting Parkinson’s disease up to 7 years before symptom onset

Research Areas

Accurate Detection of α‐Synuclein Seeds in Cerebrospinal Fluid from Isolated Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder and Patients with Parkinson's Disease in the DeNovo Parkinson (DeNoPa) Cohort

Systematic Assessment of 10 Biomarker Candidates Focusing on α‐Synuclein‐Related Disorders

A Statement of the MDS on Biological Definition, Staging, and Classification of Parkinson's Disease