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Staff Profile

Dr Marzena Kurzawa-Akanbi

Lecturer in Regenerative Medicine

  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 241 8630
  • Address: Biosciences Institute
    Faculty of Medical Sciences
    Newcastle University
    International Centre for Life
    Central Parkway
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 3BZ
Background

Dr Marzena Kurzawa-Akanbi is a Lecturer in Regenerative Medicine and Principal Investigator in Molecular Neuroscience at Newcastle University’s Biosciences Institute. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biotechnology and Molecular Biology from the University of Warsaw, Poland, and completed her PhD in Human/Medical Genetics at Newcastle University in 2011.


Following her doctorate, she spent over 12 years investigating neurodegenerative disorders - particularly the Lewy body spectrum - working as a Research Associate and Senior Research Associate at Newcastle University. Her work, supported in part by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, initiated her long-standing research interest in extracellular vesicles (EVs). Within Prof. Majlinda Lako’s laboratory, she further developed expertise in induced pluripotent stem cell disease modelling and applied these approaches to studying EV-mediated mechanisms in age-related macular degeneration.


Appointed Lecturer in 2024, Dr Kurzawa-Akanbi now leads research exploring disease mechanisms and roles of EVs in neuro- and ocular pathologies, their potential as biomarkers, and bioengineering strategies to improve their detection. She has also contributed to early efforts around EV-based diagnostic concepts, including the development of ideas that have informed the formation of ESP Diagnostics/ESPDx, a Newcastle University-linked initiative in the liquid-biopsy space.


Marzena Kurzawa-Akanbi | LinkedIn

‪Marzena Kurzawa-Akanbi‬ - ‪Google Scholar‬

Research

Key research projects:


Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) for the Detection of Alpha-synuclein Toxic Species Associated with the Pathology of Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia with Lewy Bodies. Collaboration with Dr Jake McClements (School of Engineering) and Dr Othman Almusaimi (School of Pharmacy).

Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies are common neurodegenerative conditions with rapidly increasing prevalence. These disorders are often grouped under the term Lewy body disorders due to their shared characteristic: the presence of Lewy bodies in the patients’ brains. Lewy bodies are abnormal clumps within nerve cells, thought to form to protect the cells from the accumulation of harmful material.

Alpha-synuclein protein is the central building block of Lewy bodies. In disease, alpha-synuclein changes shape and clumps together, forming small assemblies and larger aggregates found in Lewy bodies. Research has shown that the small assemblies of alpha-synuclein are more harmful to nerve cells than the larger aggregates. These toxic forms of alpha-synuclein are, therefore, a promising target for therapies (aimed at “detoxifying” these forms), diagnostics (early disease detection by identifying them in body fluids) and studying disease mechanisms. Current methods of capturing these abnormal forms of alpha-synuclein rely on antibodies. However, producing highly specific antibodies for these very complex forms of alpha-synuclein is challenging, and those available lack the precision required for research and clinical applications.

This project proposes a new way to detect toxic alpha-synuclein assemblies by designing molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as alternatives to antibodies.

MIPs are synthetic materials designed with binding cavities to capture specific target molecules, mimicking the “lock-and-key” mechanism of antigens and antibodies. These “plastic antibodies” are simpler to produce than natural antibodies, offer more consistent performance and can be designed to detect a wider variety of targets. Consequently, MIPs have excellent potential for detecting toxic alpha-synuclein assemblies.



Evaluating extracellular vesicles as a source of biomarkers for Lewy body disorders.


Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are tiny natural particles released by all cells in the body. They circulate in many body fluids, including blood, saliva, and spinal fluid. Research over the past decade has shown that EVs carry important molecular “messages” that can reflect a person’s health and may even signal early signs of disease.

Our team has shown that EVs taken from human brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid contain biomarkers linked to Lewy body pathology - the biological hallmark of Lewy body disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies (Kurzawa-Akanbi et al., Acta Neuropathologica, 2021).

We are now developing ultra-sensitive tests to detect these biomarkers in easily accessible body fluids like blood and saliva. Today, Lewy body disorders are usually diagnosed only after symptoms appear, by which time significant and irreversible brain changes have already occurred. However, we now know that the disease process begins 10–20 years before symptoms are noticeable.

Because EVs provide a window into what is happening inside the brain, we believe that EV-based biomarkers could enable accurate diagnosis many years before symptoms develop.

Our goal is to create an EV-based liquid biopsy for Lewy body disorders - helping achieve earlier diagnosis, earlier support, and better outcomes for patients and their families.

Teaching

BMS3003 Business Enterprise for the Bioscientist - Module Facilitator and Assessor

Publications