Modem Consortium Meeting, May 2026

Summary

The meeting was opened by consortium leader Guus Smit, who provided an introductory overview of the consortium's recent achievements and strategic transition toward the next phase, MODEM-2. Since the October meeting in Maastricht, core steering committee activities focused on submitting the 2025 annual report, hosting a successful progress evaluation visit from the ZonMW committee, and advancing societal outreach—notably through a student-led multimodal review article on blood-brain barrier (BBB) markers and engagement with the D-CAA patient society.

Pillar presentations

During the first block of Christiaan Huffels (UMC Utrecht) demonstrated the utility of long-term human brain organoid slice cultures (ALI-COs) as human-relevant alternatives to traditional animal models, utilizing them to characterize functional astrocytic networks.

Expanding on astrocytic pathology, Cristina Boers Escuder (VU Amsterdam / CNCR) detailed how structural intermediate filaments suppress baseline protein translation, serving as a key molecular driver that mediates early-stage cognitive decline.

Jannis Heuer (Amsterdam UMC) utilized a large-scale multi-omics approach to map Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) dysfunction—specifically Capillary Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (capCAA).

Finally, Lieuwe Verkaar (Radboud UMC) shifted focus toward macro-level physiological clearance by discussing the use of water Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) to track real-time fluid dynamics and glymphatic system functionality during sleep.

During the second block, Lynn van Olst (UMC Groningen) opened the session by demonstrating how high-definition spatial transcriptomics can map immune-mediated clearance mechanisms in immunized Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains.

Thije Willems (UvA) then transitioned to synaptic networks, illustrating how amyloid pathology disrupts stable memory circuits.

Shifting toward non-invasive diagnostic methodologies, Ivana Kancheva (LUMC) introduced a novel pseudo-Continuous Arterial Spin Labeling (pCASL) MRI technique to monitor blood-to-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier functionality in vivo.

Finally, Betty Tijms (Amsterdam UMC) addressed overall clinical translation by utilizing CSF proteomics to stratify Alzheimer's disease into five distinct molecular subtypes, underscoring the critical need for precision medicine and tailored therapeutic pipelines within future MODEM initiatives.

Special Guest Presentations

This MODEM Consortium Meeting welcomed again engaging guests to share their research which led to many lively discussions. 

Guest presenter Katherine Bassil, PhD, addressed the integration of neuroethics in fundamental research, examining how scientists evaluate the scientific and social values of advanced dementia models.

Data Management Coordinator Didi Lamers introduced the DEMPACT initiative, emphasizing how promoting FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data management improves research integrity, reproducibility, and statistical power across dementia research.

Guest presenter Harold MacGillavry detailed his lab's work on resolving the molecular organization of synapses to uncover the mechanisms driving selective synapse vulnerability in Alzheimer’s disease.

Towards MODEM 2

Looking forward, the proposed MODEM-2 framework received excellent external review scores and is projected to start in September 2026, running in parallel with the current MODEM phase until late 2027 to ensure a seamless transfer of skills and knowledge. Guus highlighted that MODEM-2 will be refining innovative cellular models for specific patient subtypes, investigating early synaptic network disruptions, adapting advanced neuroimaging and brain clearance measurements for home settings, and integrating the massive, large-scale datasets generated across the consortium's research pillars.