Dr. Celeste Sassi is a post-doctoral researcher at the Charité Berlin Department for Experimental Neurology and her main academic focus is on the Alzheimer’s disease. Celeste is among the first PaperHive ambassadors!
How would you explain the broader significance of your work
to non-researchers or academics from other disciplines?
My research has been focused on understanding the pathogenic mechanisms, particularly genetic risk and causative factors, underpinning Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal and vascular dementia. Considering the increasing incidence of these disorders in the elderly, finding robust targets is critical for developing effective treatments.
What sparked your interest in neuroscience?
Is there or was there an alternative to your career path?
I was still at high school when I read ‘Awakenings’ by Oliver Sacks. From that moment on I was sure I wanted to become a neurologist and study neurodegenerative disorders.
Please share a piece of advice for young researchers and another one for more experienced ones.
I strongly advise young researchers to travel and explore different labs, environments, and possibilities. These are important experiences to grow both professionally and personally and to acquire a certain degree of flexibility, that I do consider a key skill for a researcher.
I would encourage expert researchers to build up a network with people with a different expertise. I have found very enriching to work with researchers with a different background. This gives you the possibility to see anything from a different angle, for a deeper overview and understanding of your focus.
What are some challenges or difficulties you have encountered during research?
Personally, I have found very challenging to become progressively independent and organize your work and, above all, your thoughts within a useful time frame.
Who are the contemporary researchers that have influenced you the most?
Oliver Sacks and my PhD supervisors, Andrew Singleton and John Hardy. Very precious examples of both great science and personality.
How can you and other researchers in neuroscience benefit from using PaperHive?
PaperHive is a powerful interactive platform, very helpful for a faster and deeper understanding of the scientific message, for a critical reading of any paper and for a very effective revision, extremely important, particularly before publication.
You can find some of Celeste Sassi’s articles below:
- Exome sequencing identifies 2 novel presenilin 1 mutations (p.L166V and p.S230R) in British early-onset Alzheimer’s disease
- Investigating the role of rare coding variability in Mendelian dementia genes (APP, PSEN1, PSEN2, GRN, MAPT, and PRNP) in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease
- ABCA7 p.G215S as potential protective factor for Alzheimer’s disease
