Chief Supervisor

Dr Ellen TAN

Project Title

Biological characterization of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

Synopsis

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a severe autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system, often resulting in paralysis and vision loss. While the presence of autoantibodies targeting aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) contribute to the NMOSD pathology, there is currently a lack of definitive biomarkers for early disease detection. Diagnosis of NMOSD relies on excluding other related disorders with similar symptoms, and the negative impact of misdiagnosis and delayed treatment emphasizes the urgent need for biomarker discovery in NMOSD.

Multi-omics analysis, which integrates various omics data, aims to identify coherent relationships or associations between geno-pheno-envirotypes. This project aims to expedite the identification of biological features associated with NMOSD in both clinical patients and animal models through multi-omics analysis. By leveraging this approach, the project seeks to enhance our understanding of NMOSD and facilitate the discovery of potential biomarkers.