Dr. Lars Ittner

Biography

Professor Lars Ittner is the Director of the Dementia Research Centre at Macquarie University, specializing in neurodegenerative diseases. He graduated from the University of Ulm in Germany and completed his thesis at the University of Zurich in Switzerland in 2002. After postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Zurich, he moved to Australia in 2005, where he focused on the basic pathomechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases at the University of Sydney. By 2011, he became an independent group leader and was appointed Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. In 2013, he moved to the University of New South Wales and later joined Macquarie University in 2018 to establish the Dementia Research Centre. Professor Ittner is recognized as a German Research Foundation Fellow and holds the title of NHMRC Principal Research Fellow. His research interests include understanding the fundamental pathomechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia, focusing on identifying novel targets for drug development. With over 15 years of research dedicated to uncovering mechanisms underlying neuronal dysfunction and loss in dementia, he seeks to translate findings into new therapeutic approaches. Current projects involve developing small molecular inhibitors for kinase-related diseases, peptidomimetic modulators for excitotoxicity, innovative antibodies for dementia treatment, and gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

Research Interests