Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Alzheimer's is usually diagnosed after memory problems start. By then, the damage in the brain has been building for a decade or more.
Dr. Valerie Daggett is a professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington. Her lab studies proteins — how they fold, and what happens when they don't. Along the way they found a protein structure nobody had discovered before. They called it “alpha sheet.”
Her lab's research suggests the formation of alpha sheet may be among the earliest molecular events in Alzheimer's disease — a trigger for the disease. Based on that work, her team developed a blood test designed to detect these proteins early. They're also working on compounds intended to neutralize them.
[CHAPTERS]
0:00 Intro
0:14 What most people think Alzheimer's is
0:31 What's actually happening first
0:49 Alpha sheet, explained
1:26 Looking for the trigger in blood
2:23 What's driving the pace
2:51 Beyond Alzheimer's
3:09 Why this work happens here
Watch the rest of the series:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpA1iYYE-lh2tY4ddDzIMGEAe3rKFipI3&si=4b_iZWCPZsibhR9N
Learn more about Dr. Daggett's work: https://bioe.uw.edu/portfolio-items/daggett/
Learn more about the people and discoveries behind the science: uwmedicine.org/about/research-improves-lives
#Alzheimers #Neuroscience #ResearchImprovesLives
Alzheimer's is usually diagnosed after memory problems start. By then, the damage in the brain has been building for a decade or more.
Dr. Valerie Daggett is a professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington. Her lab studies proteins — how they fold, and what happens when they don't. Along the way they found a protein structure nobody had discovered before. They called it “alpha sheet.”
Her lab's research suggests the formation of alpha sheet may be among the earliest molecular events in Alzheimer's disease — a trigger for the disease. Based on that work, her team developed a blood test designed to detect these proteins early. They're also working on compounds intended to neutralize them.
[CHAPTERS]
0:00 Intro
0:14 What most people think Alzheimer's is
0:31 What's actually happening first
0:49 Alpha sheet, explained
1:26 Looking for the trigger in blood
2:23 What's driving the pace
2:51 Beyond Alzheimer's
3:09 Why this work happens here
Watch the rest of the series:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpA1iYYE-lh2tY4ddDzIMGEAe3rKFipI3&si=4b_iZWCPZsibhR9N
Learn more about Dr. Daggett's work: https://bioe.uw.edu/portfolio-items/daggett/
Learn more about the people and discoveries behind the science: uwmedicine.org/about/research-improves-lives
#Alzheimers #Neuroscience #ResearchImprovesLives
