Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Florida, Florida State University (FSU), and the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering are collaborating to develop new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. The project is led by Yan Li, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Li holds positions at both FSU and Mayo Clinic and has over 20 years of experience in pluripotent stem cell biology and extracellular vesicle therapeutics.
“This shared project is significant because of the resources and expertise the Mayo Clinic offers,” Li said. “One of the key components of this research is gaining access to patient-derived three-dimensional brain models. These cutting-edge tools will allow scientists to evaluate new treatments more effectively based on real human biological systems.”
The team’s recent work, published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, focused on developing a more accurate cellular model for brain disease research. By combining lab-grown brain organoids with immune cells similar to those found in the human brain, they created a model that better mimics actual brain environments. This approach allows researchers to study inflammation and immune responses, which are important factors in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Using this tool, the team exposed organoids to extracellular vesicles—tiny messengers between cells—from Alzheimer’s patient brain cells. They observed that samples containing healthy immune cells and their associated vesicles reduced harmful inflammation and decreased signals linked to proteins commonly found in Alzheimer’s patients.
“This study paves the way for understanding the role of microglia and brain organoids in modeling neural degeneration and the development of extracellular vesicle-based cell-free therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease treatment,” Li said.
The findings suggest that therapies using extracellular vesicles could offer an alternative to traditional drugs or cell transplants for treating Alzheimer’s disease.
“Using cellular messengers as medicine is a promising avenue for new treatments that apply the brain’s own clean-up tools toward fighting disease,” Li said. “By gaining insight into this communication, we hope to develop new treatments that can alter the progression of Alzheimer’s.”
The collaboration also provides doctoral students with unique clinical exposure not typically available in engineering Ph.D. programs. Students such as Jennifer Berg Sen, Sailesti Joshi, and Falak Syed work alongside physicians at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, learning advanced laboratory techniques and observing patient-centered research.
Several researchers from Mayo Clinic Florida are involved in leading roles: Dr. Takahisa Kanekiyo oversees neuroscience aspects while Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa leads neurosurgery efforts.
“It is my hope that in the future we can broaden these types of faculty collaborations and student training opportunities to advance translational research that improves patient outcomes for patients,” said Emily Pritchard, assistant provost and assistant vice president for Academic Affairs Health Innovation and Strategic Alliances.
Students report that working directly with clinicians has been motivating by showing them how their technical skills contribute to solving real-world medical problems.
“Working with the Mayo Clinic has been a highly inspiring experience, and I look forward to what the future holds for this work,” Berg Sen said.
