Anja Schneider

Prof. Dr. Anja Schneider serves as a Group Leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, Germany. Her research program bridges fundamental neurobiology with clinical applications in neurodegenerative disorders, focusing on extracellular vesicle mechanisms and early biomarker development.

Her work investigates extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated release of toxic proteins like α-synuclein in Parkinson's disease, determinants of pathological protein sorting into EVs, and EV contributions to neurodegeneration spread. She explores physiological EV functions—particularly oligodendroglial EVs—using primary cell cultures and mouse models, while concurrently developing blood and CSF biomarkers for prodromal-stage diagnosis of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. This dual focus enables direct translation from bench to bedside.

Dr. Schneider leads a Phase 1b clinical trial testing Vorinostat's safety in mild Alzheimer's patients, directly implementing preclinical findings from DZNE Göttingen that demonstrated memory restoration in mouse models. Her team actively collaborates across DZNE sites to accelerate therapeutic development.

Her laboratory at DZNE Bonn integrates cellular neuroscience, animal modeling, and clinical sample analysis to dissect EV biology in neurodegeneration, maintaining close ties with clinical neurology for rapid validation of biomarker candidates.