About the CombiDiag

CombiDiag DN aims to develop an AI-data-driven, peripheral biomarker-based, combinatorial diagnostic protocol for the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a major form of dementia, and to train a new generation of fellows in this interdisciplinary field. Dementia, a devastating disease of older age, is the challenge of our lifetime and one of the Societal Challenges listed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Horizon Europe. CombiDiag responds to this challenge by establishing a much-needed DN to conduct an integrated study of minimally invasive and cost-effective peripheral biomarkers, including body fluid markers from blood, urine, and saliva, as well as digital markers from speech, motor functions, and sleep, for the development of combinatorial early AD diagnostics.

The consortium comprises nine academic and eight non-academic institutions across Europe, the USA, Canada, and China. It brings together leading academic and industrial experts worldwide to build a triple-i research and training platform for training a new generation of Fellows to advance early AD diagnostic research to a new level. Fellows will be trained under the Vitae Researcher Development Framework, innovatively combined with the CombiDiag platform, to develop triple-i scientific and transferable skills, as well as personal qualities, creative thinking, and a business mindset. The DN has a highly innovative research programme for the discovery of peripheral AD biomarkers, detection techniques, AI/data-driven technology, clinical validation, and integration into trial designs. The advances in CombiDiag research will enable a case-finding tool at the primary care level, helping to achieve improved drug discoveries, disease-modifying treatments, preventive strategies, and care provision for AD. CombiDiag will deliver 10 highly skilled, creative, and entrepreneurial Fellows, setting them on a path to successful careers in academia or industry, to ensure that the medical and societal challenges posed by AD are met.