Unlocking the Mysteries of Neurodegenerative Dementia: Advances in Research, Diagnosis, and Treatment

About this course

Additional Course Information

• Learning Objectives

  By the end of this course you will have:

  • Basic knowledge on pathology, clinical presentation and disease course of various forms of neurodegenerative dementia.
  • In-depth knowledge on specific research approaches and methods to address various aspects of neurodegenerative dementia.
  • An overview of current limits and future needs for patients suffering from dementia.
  • An overview of diagnostics and therapy of neurodegenerative dementia.
  • Tools to recognize the value of integration of patient care and research.
  • Knowledge on how to judge research models for neurodegenerative dementia.
  • Experience in presenting a dementia related topic to peers and experts in the field.

• Forms of tuition and assessment

  Student groups (3-4 students each) will be formed based on variation in background to facilitate interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge. Student groups then decide on a shared topic of interest (which can be more clinical or more fundamental), on which they will collect literature and prepare a PowerPoint presentation of 15 minutes for the group of students and the course coordinators (60% grading).

  The course coordinators will guide the student groups towards a feasible topic and high-quality presentation. In addition, the course will include a debate among the students on different models used for neurodegenerative dementia research (cell vs animal models) and the amyloid hypothesis for Alzheimer’s disease (40% grading). Both the student's performance in the group presentation, and their contribution to the debate will be individually graded. 

  The participants are expected to attend at least 90% of the course curriculum (nine out of ten days), with the debate and the presentation being obligatory. Overall performance during the course will also be taken into account.

  Learning goals

  • Broaden knowledge on neurodegenerative dementia from various angles to generate more inclusive research and care. 
  • Challenge students to cooperate with other students from various backgrounds on a shared topic. 
  • Translate literature on a topic into a coherent high-quality scientific presentation.
  • Develop an opinion about conduction of research and hypotheses within the field.
  • Formulate an own area of interest within the field of neurodegenerative dementia for future internships, studies or job interviews.

  Provisional reading list

  • Scheltens, P., De Strooper, B., Kivipelto, M., Holstege, H., Chételat, G., Teunissen, C. E., ... & van der Flier, W. M. (2021). Alzheimer's disease. The Lancet, 397(10284), 1577-1590. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32205-4
  • Van Der Flier, W. M., & Scheltens, P. (2018). Amsterdam dementia cohort: performing research to optimize care. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 62(3), 1091-1111. DOI: 10.3233/JAD-170850

• About the course organisers

  Willem de Haan is a cognitive neurologist and senior researcher at the Alzheimer Center. His neurology training and PhD were at the Alzheimer Center, and his current research field is the clinical neurophysiology of dementia, with a focus on EEG/MEG and non-invasive brain stimulation.

  Kim de Kleijn obtained her PhD from the Radboud University in Nijmegen studying in vitro models for neuroinflammation for Multiple Sclerosis. Now, at Candidate Center (Amsterdam UMC) she uses an innovative CRISPR/Cas9 screening approach to find new binding partners for specific immune receptors on microglia (the brain immune cells) in the context of brain diseases.

  Femke Feringa obtained a PhD in Cell Biology from the Netherlands Cancer Institute. Now, at the functional genomics department at the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Femke uses stem-cell derived brain cell types to study how Alzheimer risk mutations can contribute to disease development. Currently, Femke is starting her own research line to study senescence in Alzheimer’s disease.

  Rik van der Kant is a group leader at the CNCR and will be available for support during this course as he has organized a similar summer course at the VU previously.

  All course coordinators are well experienced and embedded in the VU and Amsterdam UMC in order to arrange high quality guest lecturers and workshops in this summer school course.

• Course syllabus

  Here you are be able to download the preliminary course syllabus for 2026.

  ^{*Please note that this is a preliminary syllabus and that it can still change before the start of the course.}

Team VU Amsterdam Summer School

We are here to help!

amsterdamsummerschool@vu.nl

+31 20 59 86429

Microsoft Teams: by appointment via amsterdamsummerschool@vu.nl

Contact

• Yota
• Programme Coordinator

• Esther Fris
• International Officer

• Julia
• International Officer