The young investigator group'Mass Spectrometry in Systems Neurosciences' headed by Dr. Chien-Yun Lee conducts research in the area of mass spectrometry-based clinical proteomics. The main focus is to develop and apply proteomic technologies to systematically study the unexplored peptidomes and post-translational modifications of proteins in the body fluids of patients affected by disorders of the central nervous system. The overall goal of this highly collaborative research is to broaden the understanding of disease mechanisms and biomarker discovery to advance medical diagnosis and treatment.

The young investigator group 'Biomedical Informatics in Systems Neuroscience' headed by Dr. Christiane Gasperi aims at the identification of proteomic biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for the disease course and treatment response in patients with Multiple sclerosis (MS). The overall goal is to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying changes in the CSF proteome with a strong focus on genetic factors and to develop prediction models for the disease course and treatment response in MS. To that end, we will integrate mass spectrometry data of more than 2000 patients with MS with detailed clinical data, paraclinical data and MRI imaging data to identify changes in the CSF proteome associated with the disease course or treatment response. We will then integrate these data with genetic data, gene expression data of CSF cells and epigenetic data to study the molecular levels underlying these proteomic changes. We will further apply state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms to cluster patients according to omics, clinical, paraclinical, and imaging data, and to develop prediction models for the course of the disease, optimization of treatment, and development of biomarkers.