María Mercedes Atienza Ruiz is a University Professor in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Cell Biology at Universidad Pablo de Olavide, where she leads the LNF Functional Neuroscience research group and contributes to doctoral programs on Alzheimer's disease detection and memory mechanisms. Education: PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Seville (1999), thesis: 'Effect of the state of cerebral activation on the duration of auditory sensory memory' supervised by Dr. Carlos María Gómez González. Her research focuses on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease mechanisms, biomarker discovery (amyloid-beta, tau, salivary lactoferrin), and metabolic interactions with neurodegeneration. She investigates memory processes through neuroimaging, proteomics, and analysis of blood/saliva extracellular vesicles, with particular emphasis on insulin resistance, APOE ɛ4 effects, and age-related brain changes. Her work bridges basic neuroscience with clinical applications for early disease detection. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2021-2025) shows consistent focus on biomarker validation across biofluids, genetic risk factor interactions, and metabolic drivers of cognitive decline. Key methodologies include structural/functional neuroimaging, proteomic profiling, and longitudinal cohort studies targeting pre-symptomatic disease stages. Scientific Awards: No scientific awards were mentioned in the provided text. Dr. Atienza Ruiz actively supervises doctoral candidates in Alzheimer's disease research through UPO's programs on early detection and memory mechanisms, though specific student names weren't provided. Her LNF Functional Neuroscience group likely secures funding for biomarker discovery projects, with recent publications indicating ongoing investigations into metabolic-neurodegeneration links and therapeutic targets like angiotensin blockers. Research Group: LNF Functional Neuroscience









