Daniel Martinez-Perez, a graduate student originally from Medellín, Colombia, has played a central role in new research that may advance the early detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. His interest in neurodegenerative disorders began during his veterinary studies at the University of Antioquia, where he encountered pets with dementia-like symptoms similar to those seen in humans.
“Every animal is different, every species is different,” Martinez-Perez said. “But the basic things, the biology and physiology, are pretty similar.”
His curiosity led him to join a neuroscience lab at his university, where he shifted focus from clinical practice to molecular research. “At the beginning, I couldn’t understand anything because I came from a clinical background,” Martinez-Perez recalled. “They were talking about molecules and things like that. I was just like, ‘ugh.’ I felt lost.
“But then I started getting things,” he added.
Martinez-Perez went on to pursue a master’s degree in biomedical sciences focused on neuroscience and later became an assistant lecturer. His academic journey took another turn when Tomás R. Guilarte, dean of Florida International University’s Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work and an expert in brain health and neurotoxicology, visited Medellín to establish a collaboration between institutions. Guilarte offered Martinez-Perez a fellowship and invited him into his Ph.D. program and laboratory at FIU.
Five years later, their partnership resulted in a published study in Acta Neuropathologica that highlights findings related to Alzheimer’s disease. The team focused on TSPO, a protein found in brain immune cells that can serve as a biomarker for inflammation when activated at certain levels—a discovery previously made by Guilarte.
The recent research explored details about TSPO—its location, timing, and function—in relation to Alzheimer’s progression. This work could help develop methods for earlier diagnosis or even treatment of the disease.
“He was really amazing,” Guilarte said about Martinez-Perez’s leadership on the project. “He really took the bull by the horns, and he’s still doing that…he definitely took it upon himself. And he did the majority of the work.”
Martinez-Perez led experiments using genetically engineered mouse models to confirm development of Alzheimer’s-like symptoms through behavioral tests involving burrow hole searches. He also prepared brain tissue slides to observe how immune cells interacted with beta-amyloid plaques—a hallmark of Alzheimer’s—and used artificial intelligence tools to analyze data distinguishing immune cells from plaques.
The study found a positive correlation between activated TSPO levels and immune cell contact with plaques in both mice and human brain samples provided by colleagues at the University of Antioquia.
This association brings researchers closer to understanding how inflammation relates to Alzheimer’s progression; projections indicate that up to 13 million Americans could be affected by 2050 (https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures).
Looking ahead, Guilarte hopes these results will inform efforts toward developing blood-based screening tests for Alzheimer’s disease: “Obviously, this is in its infancy,” he noted.
Martinez-Perez plans to present these findings at the Global Health Conference of the Americas in Cartagena while continuing his involvement with international neuroscience collaborations.
“That’s something beautiful about science,” Martinez-Perez said. “That every finding, at the end, opens a door for more questions. That’s how science works.”
