Martin Hallbeck

Martin Hallbeck is a Professor at Linköping University, affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (BKV). He simultaneously serves as Senior Consultant Anatomical Pathology with focus on Neuropathology and Molecular Pathology, and Head of Anatomical Pathology at Linköping University Hospital, giving him a unique dual perspective bridging clinical practice and research.

His educational background includes a Master of Science in medicine, Medical Doctor degree, and Doctoral thesis in Neurobiology from Linköping University in 2000 titled "Peptidergic projections from the rat paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus to the spinal cord."

Hallbeck's research focuses on understanding the cellular mechanisms responsible for the spread of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. His groundbreaking work has demonstrated how toxic protein aggregates spread between neurons through various mechanisms including via exosomes and cellular waste-disposal systems. His team has developed advanced models to study neuron-to-neuron disease propagation, showing that harmful protein aggregates can spread between nerve cells in a prion-like manner, which has significant implications for developing new diagnostic tools and treatments.

His publication record includes significant findings on disease propagation mechanisms, with notable publications in 2012, 2014, and 2025. His research has gained international attention, particularly for demonstrating how disease pathology spreads between nerve cells.

• The Swedish Alzheimer Foundation's large research prize, 2015
• Eric K. Fernström's prize to young, highly promising and successful researcher, 2013

Hallbeck leads research that combines clinical insights with advanced laboratory methods to address critical questions about how nerve cell connections are affected during disease progression, how recipient cells become ill, and whether these disease mechanisms can be targeted for therapeutic intervention. His work is conducted within the Division of Cell and Neurobiology and is associated with the Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine at LiU and the Center for Systems Neurobiology.