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Andrew Stern

@andrewmstern.bsky.social
741 followers 578 following 116 posts

Neurologist and Alzheimer disease scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. My lab studies beta-amyloid aggregates as they occur in human brain. Also TDP-43 biomarkers. Associate PD for research at MGB neurology residency program. sternlab.bwh.harvard.edu

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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37733037/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
If fibril structure is faithfully transmitted through the brain, I see this as further evidence for true amyloid fibrils (PHF, etc), and against “non-fibrillar HMW oligomers,” as being the relevant seeding species. @sjorsscheres.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Prion-like transmission of human tau strains in the mouse brain - Nature
Mouse experiments show that Alzheimer’s disease and corticobasal degeneration tau filaments retain their distinct structures during templated seeding, supporting strain-specific tau propagation a...
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
My lab is looking for a new technician and/or postdoctoral fellow to join us! Many exciting projects on the molecular biology of amyloid beta and TDP-43. Please message or email.
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Encouraged to see that the FY27 LHHS appropriations bill emerged from House subcommittee with a ~3% increase in NIH funding compared to FY26. But this needs to be more like 20% to make up for a decade of stagnation.
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
We found that Aβ fibrils at plaque edges form a complex with the U1 snRNP. U1-70k is the most-correlated insoluble protein with Aβ in AD. Previously thought to be intracellular in tangles, but we find it’s directly bound to Aβ. With @raflynn5.bsky.social. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Digital seed amplification assay for TDP‐43 aggregate quantification in CSF
INTRODUCTION Dementia is commonly caused by underlying pathologies driven by misfolded protein aggregates. Although dementia subtypes have distinct mechanisms, overlapping symptoms make diagnosis wi...
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Some progress toward a sensitive test for TDP-43 diseases. www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/new...
massgeneralbrigham.org
Ultrasensitive Test Detects Biomarkers for Specific Form of Dementia | Mass General Brigham
Mass General Brigham researchers combine expertise in neurology, pathology to make strides for patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration.
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
We were unable to find support for the claim that lecanemab binds a different, more soluble, human target than aducanumab and donanemab. Antibody preference for plaques vs CAA is unlikely to explain differences in ARIA-E rates. alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Anti‐amyloid antibody equilibrium binding to Aβ aggregates from human Alzheimer's disease brain
INTRODUCTION Lecanemab binds “protofibrils,” which are poorly characterized in human brain. It is unknown why lecanemab caused fewer amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIAs) than other antibodi.....
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Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Do we grow wiser as we age? I spent 15+ years chasing glam journals, wasting time and energy (and frustrating my team and co-authors). I don’t want to wake up at 70 and realize my life went into convincing a few editors my work was trendy enough. Enough. I’ll try to be smarter.
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
My favorite NIH entity is the Council of Councils, which sounds like it might launch a war to defend Naboo.
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
Knowing little about this, I’d ask how complex matrix C (the FC map) is - how many baseline circuits and regions there are. If it’s only a few highly connected regions in few circuits (eg the DMN), then I see their point. If the # of circuits >> # patients and lesions, then LNM should be valid?
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Talia Lerner @talialerner.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Updating this graph for the holidays 🎁 (datapoints are a selection of journals publishing in neuroscience)
Graph titled "Paying for Impact 2025" showing Article Processing Charge (APC) vs Impact Factor for a selection of top journals in neuroscience - linear trendline R^2=0.636
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Introducing Nature Baubles, the latest addition to Nature Portfolio. open.substack.com/pub/andrewms...
open.substack.com
Introducing Nature Baubles
Science has changed.
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I-75 Scientist @flscitriguy.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Updates to the submission process for LOIs and grants requesting more than $500K in any budget periods. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-019: Updated Application Policies: NIH Administrative Burden Reduction Effort Removal of Requirements for Letters of Intent and Unsolicited Applications Requesting $500,000 or More in Dire...
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Updated Application Policies: NIH Administrative Burden Reduction Effort Removal of Requirements for Letters of Inten...
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Hi Usha, I would be happy to discuss the misinformed narrative about the Alzheimer’s field Piller is pushing. And perhaps you or he can explain why my ongoing work and that of thousands of others is part of a “Devastating Legacy of Lies.”
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Rémi Fronzes @fronzeslab.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
I fully agree. The term LLPS is probably not the correct one to describe what happens in cells. However, the formation of dynamic low-order condensates driven by low affinity multivalent proteins (often highly disordered) seems to occur in cells.
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
If not LLPS, what term would you use to describe these quick off-rate polyvalent structures that show rapid FRAP recovery, droplet-mixing, etc? QuORPS?
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
Well I see the appeal of using “liquid” as a term to describe a collection of polyvalent interactors, sliding along one another through rapid associations and dissociations. What would be a better term for this, distinct from aggregates with irreversible monovalent (oligovalent?) interactions?
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
Do you think it better to describe condensates as concentrations of disordered macromolecules with specific but polyvalent interactions and quick off-rates?
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Any cryoEM folks know what these strange zebra-stripe particles are in a prep from human brain?
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
open.substack.com/pub/andrewms...
open.substack.com
Aging doesn't exist
“Biological aging,” I fear, is the pseudo-scientific association of societal bias with murky biochemistry.
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
We are looking to hire a postdoc to take this and other TDP-43 assay development forward! Please re-post!
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Young-Pearse Lab @typlab.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Our study “Genetic and proteomic analysis identifies BAG3 as an amyloid‑responsive regulator of neuronal proteostasis" was published in Acta Neuropathologica this week! Congratulations to lead author Zach Augur, who will be defending his thesis later this week!! link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007...
link.springer.com
Genetic and proteomic analysis identifies BAG3 as an amyloid-responsive regulator of neuronal proteostasis
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Working with David Walt’s lab, here is a new tool we hope to develop into a diagnostic test for TDP-43 pathology, something we desperately need in cognitive neurology. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
medrxiv.org
Digital seed amplification assay for TDP-43 aggregate quantification in CSF
INTRODUCTION Dementia is commonly caused by underlying pathologies driven by misfolded protein aggregates. Although dementia subtypes have distinct mechanisms, overlapping symptoms make diagnosis with...
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Some thoughts on personalized medicine. open.substack.com/pub/andrewms...
open.substack.com
On exactitude in single-molecule omics of the human body
Toward truly personalized medicine
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Some poorly conceived thoughts on modern science. open.substack.com/pub/andrewms...
open.substack.com
Simultanagnosia and scientific paradigms
This week, in our case rounds, one of our clinical fellows presented a classic case of posterior cortical atrophy, an atypical presentation of Alzheimer disease.
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
My lab is hiring a postdoc to work on new TDP-43 biomarkers! Please get in touch and re-post!
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
BREAKING: Field makes inchwise progress over decades on intractable problem of dementia with interesting leads and blind alleys but smart people are doing their best and please don’t overinterpret their results because it takes a long time for a real breakthrough www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/06/m...
bostonglobe.com
New hope for Alzheimer’s: Groundbreaking Harvard study finds lithium reverses brain aging - The Boston Globe
The research suggests a new approach to preventing and treating the mind-robbing disease.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
First highlight... Senator Capito started of the discussion saying that the bill contains AN INCREASE for NIH. The details are not available, but the bill will be released ofter the hearing. This is not a done-deal, but it does show where the Senate is on a bipartisan basis.
media.tenor.com
a cartoon of snoopy on a green background with the words `` great news ! ''
ALT: a cartoon of snoopy on a green background with the words `` great news ! ''
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
My lab is hiring a postdoc to work on new TDP-43 biomarkers! Please get in touch and re-post!
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Young-Pearse Lab @typlab.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
New TYP lab publication led by PhD student @alexlish.bsky.social out today in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social! We present a reproducible neuron-astrocyte-microglia tri-culture model to better reproduce intercellular interactions in Alzheimer's disease. Read more here: www.cell.com/cell-reports...
cell.com
Astrocyte induction of disease-associated microglia is suppressed by acute exposure to fAD neurons in human iPSC triple cultures
Lish et al. present a co-culture system of iPSC-derived human microglia, astrocytes, and neurons to investigate intercellular communication across different environmental and genetic contexts. Transcr...
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Well said!
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Thanks guys. To be clear, I still favor that antibody directly binding to CAA could be a cause of ARIA. We just found that the difference in ARIA-E between lec and adu can’t be fully explained by differences in CAA preference.
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
We studied the binding of clinical antibodies to human brain extracts and found no evidence that lecanemab binds a more soluble population of Abeta than aducanumab or donanemab, nor that binding preferences to CAA vs plaque explained different ARIA rates. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Anti-amyloid antibody equilibrium binding to Aβ aggregates from human Alzheimer disease brain
Importance: Anti-amyloid immunotherapy is used to treat Alzheimer disease (AD) with moderate benefits and potentially serious side effects due to amyloid related imaging abnormality with effusions/ede...
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alexlish.bsky.social @alexlish.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Thrilled to share my first first-author paper is out @cp-neuron.bsky.social! We show that Alzheimer's disease protective CLU alleles upregulate CLU in response to neuropathology, dampening inflammatory signaling between microglia and astrocytes. Read here www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
CLU alleviates Alzheimer’s disease-relevant processes by modulating astrocyte reactivity and microglia-dependent synaptic density
Genetic studies implicate clusterin (CLU) in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), yet its precise molecular impact remains unclear. Through u…
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Nicolas Villain @nvillain-alz.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Oh! It was finally approved today! 🍾🍾 ec.europa.eu/newsroom/san...
ec.europa.eu
HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY - Commission authorises medicine for treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease
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Young-Pearse Lab @typlab.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
Congratulations our newly-minted PhD candidate Olivia Pembridge on passing her PQE with flying colors today! Olivia will be using a wide array of iPSC and organoid models to study mechanisms of neurodevelopment!
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Young-Pearse Lab @typlab.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
If you're headed to #ADPD next week, be sure to stop by the TYP lab presentations by @gizemterzioglu.bsky.social and Zach Augur to learn about some of the amazing work the lab is doing!
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Young-Pearse Lab @typlab.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Zach Augur will be presenting a poster during Shift 1 on April 2nd and 3rd titled "BAG3 IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND ITS IMPACT ON ASTROCYTE FUNCTION AND DISEASE PROGRESSION"
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Young-Pearse Lab @typlab.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
@gizemterzioglu.bsky.social will be presenting at the Microglia Symposium on the afternoon of April 4th! Her talk is titled "INPP5D/SHIP1 REGULATES MICROGLIA FUNCTION AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE"
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Yes SEC followed by several techniques like ELISA, Western blot, EM, etc.
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
It’s good to be skeptical! I agree - I don’t think there’s a distinct atomic structure of oligomers/protofibrils as distinct from fibrils found in plaques. But there are reasons “they” said these things.
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
We’re still working on it! We have some interesting SEC data to share with you. I think Dennis or our postdoc Youqi will present some at AD/PD if you’ll be there (I won’t).
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
The homogenization, centrifuge speeds, detection methods, etc always vary paper to paper but the finding is reproducible. See also eg pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23225543/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Amyloid-β oligomerization in Alzheimer dementia versus high-pathology controls - PubMed
The results raise the intriguing hypothesis that the linkage between plaques and oligomers may be a key pathophysiological event underlying dementia of the Alzheimer type. This Aβ oligomer assay may b...
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Andrew Stern @andrewmstern.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
In the case of Abeta, also from observations that aqueously extracted aggregates correlate with disease better than plaques do, but without structural information about those aggregates other than some antibody binding studies. Eg onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Soluble pool of Aβ amyloid as a determinant of severity of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease
Genetic evidence strongly supports the view that Aβ amyloid production is central to the cause of Alzheimer's disease. The kinetics, compartmentation, and form of Aβ and its temporal relation to the ...
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Suzanne E. Schindler @suzanneeschindler.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
A very thoughtful and sobering piece by Dr. Jason Karlawish. "The problem is that the facts don't support Piller's message. It's sensational, and in my experience, it's causing harm." How a Book Is Undermining Progress Against Alzheimer's www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
It was distressing to see the skepticism about Alzheimer's disease research expressed at the Bhattahcharya hearing today. This has been fueled by Charles Piller's sensationalized (NOT sensational) reporting and book. 1/n
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Charles Jennings @chasjennings.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Many Alzheimer’s researchers are also unhappy with Piller’s recent book and its negative characterization of the field, in which he inflates the significance of isolated fraud cases to argue that the entire field is corrupt. Here’s a rebuttal from my colleague Dennis Selkoe, published in STAT News:
statnews.com
There is no ‘amyloid cabal’ in Alzheimer’s research
“There exists no ‘amyloid cabal’” in Alzheimer’s research, neurologist Dennis Selkoe writes in response to Charles Piller’s “Doctored.”
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
@baldwin.senate.gov released a press release calling out the administration for damaging the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center network through it's screwing up NIH processes. www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-r... 1/2
baldwin.senate.gov
Baldwin Blasts Trump Administration for Stopping $65 Million for Alzheimer’s Disease Research | U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate...
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
If you want to learn about Charlie Piller's journalistic integrity, read this (long) thread. bsky.app/profile/jere... It is pretty telling...sensationalism without regard to getting the facts right.
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