Personal profile
- 2023 - 2025: President of the British Neuroscience Association
- 2022: Appointed an Ambassador for Alzheimer Scotland
- 2021 - 2023: President-elect of the British Neuroscience Association
- 2021 - present: Alzheimer’s Research UK Scientific Advisory Board member
- 2017 - present: Professor of Neurodegeneration, UK Dementia Research Institute Programme Lead, Deputy Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences; University of Edinburgh (funded by UofE, ERC Consolidator Award, and the UK Dementia Research Instutute)
- 2016 - 2017: Interim Director, Centre for Cognitive and Neural Systems; University of Edinburgh (funded by UofE and ERC Consolidator Award)
- 2013 - 2017: Reader and Chancellor’s Fellow; University of Edinburgh
- 2011 - 2013: Assistant Professor; Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School
- 2006 - 2011: Instructor; Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School
- 2004 - 2006: Research Fellow Neurology; Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School
- 2000 - 2004: DPhil Neuroscience; University of Oxford
Research Theme
Research
Tara Spires-Jones’ research focuses on the mechanisms and reversibility of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease, other degenerative brain diseases, and ageing. Working with a vibrant group of researchers, she is trying to understand why synapses and neurons become dysfunctional and die in these diseases in order to develop effective therapeutic strategies. Her work has shown that soluble forms of the pathological proteins amyloid beta and tau contribute to synapse degeneration, and that lowering levels of these proteins can prevent and reverse phenotypes in model systems. Her group has discovered that pathological forms of tau spread through the brain via synaptic connections. Working with the Lothian Birth Cohorts 1936, her group has also started to uncover why some people are resilient to cognitive decline during ageing. Further, she has pioneered high-resolution imaging techniques in human post-mortem brain and found evidence that these proteins accumulate in synapses in human disease. Tara Spires-Jones has published over 100 peer reviewed papers which have been cited over 20,000 times.
In addition to her research, Prof Spires-Jones is passionate about communicating scientific findings to the public and policy makers; increasing the rigour and reproducibility in translational neuroscience; promoting inclusivity and diversity in science; and supporting career development of neuroscientists. She is President of the British Neuroscience Association (2023-2025), and is founding editor of the translational neuroscience journal Brain Communications. She was also a founding member of the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence, which works to promote the future of European Neuroscience.
Prior to moving to Scotland in 2013, Tara Spires-Jones ran a group studying Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis with an emphasis on synaptic pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School, where she was Instructor from 2006-2011 and Assistant Professor from 2011-2013. She completed graduate training (MSc and DPhil) at the University of Oxford from 1999-2003, and undergraduate training at the University of Texas at Austin from 1994-1999.
Funding
- The UK Dementia Research Institute
- European Research Council Consolidator Award (ALZSYN)
- Alzheimer’s Research UK
- Wellcome Trust-University of Edinburgh Institutional Strategic Support
- Alzheimer’s Society
- MND Scotland
- Euan MacDonald Centre for Motorneurone Disease Research
Team members
- Jane Tulloch (Lab manager)
- Manuela Marescotti (Scientific Editor, Brain Communications)
- James Catterson (Postdoctoral Fellow)
- Declan King (Postdoctoral Fellow)
- Jamie Rose (Research Technician)
- Rob McGeachan (ECAT Veterinary Clinical PhD student)
- Edmond Mouofo (Wellcome Trust PhD student)
- Elizabeth Simzer (Research Technician and Scientific Editor)
Collaborations
- Alberto Lleo, Hospital de San Pau, Barcelona
- Barry McColl, UK DRI Edinburgh
- Brad Hyman, MGH/ Harvard Medical School
- Colin Smith, Edinburgh
- Dominic Walsh, Harvard Medical School
- Frank Gunn-Moore, St Andrews
- Ghazaleh Sadri-Vakili, MGH/ Harvard Med
- Giles Hardingham, UK DRI Edinburgh
- Henrik Zetterberg, UK DRI UCL/Gothenburg
- Ian Deary/Simon Cox, Edinburgh
- Lawrence Rajendran, UK DRI Kings
- Matthew Horrocks, Edinburgh
- Monica Garcia-Alloza, University of Cadiz
- Panyiota Poirazi, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas
- Patrik Verstreken, VIB
- Pieter Baatsen, Natalia Grunko, VIB
- Rita Sattler, Barrow Institute of Neurology, Phoenix AZ
- Thora Karadottir, Cambridge
Selected Publications
Colom-Cadena, M., Davies, C., Sirisi, S., Lee, J.-E., Simzer, E. M., Tzioras, M., Querol-Vilaseca, M., Sánchez-Aced, É., Chang, Y. Y., Holt, K., McGeachan, R. I., Rose, J., Tulloch, J., Wilkins, L., Smith, C., Andrian, T., Belbin, O., Pujals, S., Horrocks, M. H., Lleo, A., Spires-Jones, T. L. (2023). Synaptic oligomeric tau in Alzheimer’s disease—A potential culprit in the spread of tau pathology through the brain. Neuron, 111(14), 2170-2183.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2023.04.020
King, D., Holt, K., Toombs, J., He, X., Dando, O., Okely, J. A., Tzioras, M., Rose, J., Gunn, C., Correia, A., Montero, C., McAlister, H., Tulloch, J., Lamont, D., Taylor, A. M., Harris, S. E., Redmond, P., Cox, S. R., Henstridge, C. M., … Spires-Jones, T. L. (2023). Alzheimer’s Synaptic resilience is associated with maintained cognition during ageing & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12894
Tzioras, M., McGeachan, R. I., Durrant, C. S., & Spires-Jones, T. L. (2023). Synaptic degeneration in Alzheimer disease. Nature Reviews. Neurology, 19(1), 19–38. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-022-00749-z
Yeap, J., Sathyaprakash, C., Toombs, J., Tulloch, J., Scutariu, C., Rose, J., Burr, K., Davies, C., Colom-Cadena, M., Chandran, S., Large, C. H., Rowan, M. J. M., Gunthorpe, M. J., & Spires-Jones, T. L. (2022). Reducing voltage-dependent potassium channel Kv3.4 levels ameliorates synapse loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Brain and Neuroscience Advances, 6, 23982128221086464. https://doi.org/10.1177/23982128221086464
Tulloch, J., Netsyk, O., Pickett, E. K., Herrmann, A. G., Jain, P., Stevenson, A. J., Oren, I., Hardt, O., & Spires-Jones, T. L. (2021). Maintained memory and long-term potentiation in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease with both amyloid pathology and human tau. The European Journal of Neuroscience, 53(2), 637–648. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.14918
Kurucu, H., Colom-Cadena, M., Davies, C., Wilkins, L., King, D., Rose, J., Tzioras, M., Tulloch, J. H., Smith, C., & Spires-Jones, T. L. (2021). Inhibitory synapse loss and accumulation of amyloid beta in inhibitory presynaptic terminals in Alzheimer’s disease. European Journal of Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.15043
Tzioras, M., Stevenson, A. J., Boche, D., & Spires-Jones, T. L. (2020). Microglial contribution to synaptic uptake in the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia. Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology. https://doi.org/10.1111/nan.12660
Pickett, E. K., Herrmann, A. G., McQueen, J., Abt, K., Dando, O., Tulloch, J., Jain, P., Dunnett, S., Sohrabi, S., Fjeldstad, M. P., Calkin, W., Murison, L., Jackson, R. J., Tzioras, M., Stevenson, A., d’Orange, M., Hooley, M., Davies, C., Colom-Cadena, M., Anton-Fernandez, A., King, D., Oren, I., Rose, J., McKenzie, C.-A., Allison, E., Smith, C., Hardt, O., Henstridge, C. M., Hardingham, G. E., & Spires-Jones, T. L. (2019). Amyloid Beta and Tau Cooperate to Cause Reversible Behavioral and Transcriptional Deficits in a Model of Alzheimer’s Disease. Cell Reports, 29(11), 3592-3604.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.11.044
Henstridge, C. M., Hyman, B. T., & Spires-Jones, T. L. (2019). Beyond the neuron-cellular interactions early in Alzheimer disease pathogenesis. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 20(2), 94–108. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-018-0113-1
Jackson, R. J., Rose, J., Tulloch, J., Henstridge, C., Smith, C., & Spires-Jones, T. L. (2019). Clusterin accumulates in synapses in Alzheimer’s disease and is increased in apolipoprotein E4 carriers. Brain Communications, 1(1), fcz003. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcz003
Pickett, E. K., Rose, J., McCrory, C., McKenzie, C.-A., King, D., Smith, C., Gillingwater, T. H., Henstridge, C. M., & Spires-Jones, T. L. (2018). Region-specific depletion of synaptic mitochondria in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Acta Neuropathologica, 136(5), 747–757. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-018-1903-2
Henstridge CM, Sideris DI, Carroll E, Rotariu S, Salomonsson S, Tzioras M, McKenzie CA, Smith C, von Arnim CAF, Ludolph AC, Lulé D, Leighton D, Warner J, Cleary E, Newton J, Swingler R, Chandran S, Gillingwater TH, Abrahams S, Spires-Jones TL. Synapse loss in the prefrontal cortex is associated with cognitive decline in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Acta Neuropathol. 2017 Dec 22. doi: 10.1007/s00401-017-1797-4.
Colom-Cadena M, Pegueroles J, Herrmann AG, Henstridge CM, Muñoz L, Querol-Vilaseca M, Martín-Paniello CS, Luque-Cabecerans J, Clarimon J, Belbin O, Núñez-Llaves R, Blesa R, Smith C, McKenzie CA, Frosch MP, Roe A, Fortea J, Andilla J, Loza-Alvarez P, Gelpi E, Hyman BT, Spires-Jones TL*, Lleó A*. Synaptic phosphorylated α-synuclein in dementia with Lewy bodies. Brain. 2017 Dec 1;140(12):3204-3214. doi: 10.1093/brain/awx275. PubMed PMID: 29177 27. * equal contributions
Kay KR, Smith C, Wright AK, Serrano-Pozo A, Pooler AM, Koffie R, Bastin ME, Bak TH, Abrahams S, Kopeikina KJ, McGuone D, Frosch MP, Gillingwater TH, Hyman BT, Spires-Jones TL. Studying synapses in human brain with array tomography and electron microscopy. Nat Protoc. 2013;8(7):1366-80. doi: 10.1038/nprot.2013.078.
de Calignon, A., Polydoro, M., Suárez-Calvet, M., William, C., Adamowicz, D. H., Kopeikina, K. J., Pitstick, R., Sahara, N., Ashe, K. H., Carlson, G. A., Spires-Jones, T. L., & Hyman, B. T. (2012). Propagation of tau pathology in a model of early Alzheimer’s disease. Neuron, 73(4), 685–697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2011.11.033
de Calignon, A., Fox, L. M., Pitstick, R., Carlson, G. A., Bacskai, B. J., Spires-Jones, T. L., & Hyman, B. T. (2010). Caspase activation precedes and leads to tangles. Nature, 464(7292), 1201–1204. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08890
Information for students:
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