Best Poster Award 1 2025 decerned to Tingting Chen

Tingting Chen Receives Best Poster Award 1 for Revealing How Extracellular Vesicles Drive Alzheimer’s Pathology

Tingting Chen, from the University of Groningen, has been honored with Best Poster Award 1 at the 2nd World Congress on Targeting Extracellular Vesicles 2025, held in Valencia, Spain.

Her award winning poster, “PSEN1-Mutant Neural Progenitor Cell–Derived Extracellular Vesicles Induce Alzheimer’s Pathology in Brain Organoids,” provides compelling evidence that disease associated extracellular vesicles can actively propagate neurodegenerative signals.

Chen’s research shows that EVs released from PSEN1 mutant neural progenitor cells induce Alzheimer’s disease like molecular and cellular signatures in brain organoids. These findings demonstrate that EV cargo is not merely a byproduct of disease but a functional driver capable of transmitting pathological cues between cells.

By focusing on EV mediated communication and its link to mitochondrial dysfunction, the study advances understanding of how neurodegeneration may spread within the brain. The work also points toward new opportunities for identifying biomarkers and therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease by intercepting harmful EV signaling pathways.

“My goal is to understand how disease associated EVs influence neuronal networks and how we can use them to intercept neurodegenerative processes,” said Dr. Tingting Chen.

The Best Poster Award 1 recognizes research with strong conceptual impact and translational promise. Tingting Chen’s work stands out for its innovative use of brain organoids and its contribution to unraveling the mechanisms by which extracellular vesicles shape the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.