Axel Montagne
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axelmontagne.bsky.social
Axel Montagne
@axelmontagne.bsky.social
950 followers 200 following 41 posts
Senior Lecturer & Group Leader @UKDRI @EdinburghUni, @The_MRC CDA Fellow | @USC & @Universite_Caen alumnus | Vascular, Imaging & Dementia 🧠 | Lab - @montagnelab
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Axel Montagne @axelmontagne.bsky.social · Mar 23
🚨 New preprint

11,000+ human brain microvessels in cSVD.

Key findings:
• Early, bimodal pericyte loss
• Endothelial activation comes later
• Venous-like microvascular shift
• Capillary density ↑

💡 Suggests a sequential vascular pathology, not parallel.

🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
axelmontagne.bsky.social
No summer conference this year. Just beach days, family time, and making memories with my son.

Much needed. ☀️🌊❤️
July 12, 2026 at 6:47 AM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
pichaelmichael.bsky.social
Our review (with the brilliant Conor McQuaid
@axelmontagne.bsky.social
) also just came out looking at glia-vascular interactions in neurodegenerative diseases - an exciting time for the field! Check it out: pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/article/S003... #glia #neurovascular #dementia #alzheimers
Friend or foe? Glial–vascular interactions in health and neurodegenerative disease
Dysfunction of glial and vascular cells is increasingly recognized as a central feature of neurodegenerative diseases. Growing evidence points to disruptions in glial-vascular interactions, which are ...
pharmrev.aspetjournals.org
June 3, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
regisjoulia.bsky.social
🔬 PhD position at Imperial College London!
Uncover how pericytes, mysterious vascular cells, drive asthma inflammation. Use spatial transcriptomics, 3D imaging & transgenic models to unlock new therapies.
3-year funded PhD | Oct 2026 start
👉 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
📧[email protected]
Defining the Immune Functions of Lung Pericytes and Their Dysregulation in Asthma at Imperial College London on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Defining the Immune Functions of Lung Pericytes and Their Dysregulation in Asthma at Imperial College London, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
May 15, 2026 at 1:32 PM
axelmontagne.bsky.social
🚨 New preprint on bioRxiv!

Pericyte loss triggers hypoperfusion, BBB dysfunction, endothelial VCAM-1/type I IFN activation, venular-like transitions & delayed white matter injury linked to human SVD signatures.

Congrats Dr. Dorota Stefancova & team!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
May 13, 2026 at 8:12 AM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
haoyin.bsky.social
Pericyte loss precedes endothelial inflammation ⬆️VCAM1 in 👤cerebral Small Vessel Disease

11k microvessels (φ4~19 μm)🤠 in precentral gyrus grey & white matter
N=20👤

Morph-O-Matic 2D cell segmentation
zenodo.org/records/1735...

@axelmontagne.bsky.social bioRxiv 2026
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
April 10, 2026 at 11:54 AM
axelmontagne.bsky.social
🚨 New preprint

11,000+ human brain microvessels in cSVD.

Key findings:
• Early, bimodal pericyte loss
• Endothelial activation comes later
• Venous-like microvascular shift
• Capillary density ↑

💡 Suggests a sequential vascular pathology, not parallel.

🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
March 23, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
dementiaresearcher.bsky.social
PhD at the University of Edinburgh exploring small vessel disease using imaging, AI and metabolic profiling to understand brain cell dysfunction and test therapies.

www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/job/phd-meta...
PhD: Metabolism, endothelial cells & vascular dementia
PhD at the University of Edinburgh on small vessel disease using imaging, AI & metabolic profiling to study brain cell dysfunction and test therapeutic targets.
www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk
March 23, 2026 at 3:20 PM
axelmontagne.bsky.social
Here is the FindAPhD weblink to our BHF-DRI PhD programme!

Deadline: *April 14*

Please spread the word!!

eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
March 16, 2026 at 9:48 AM
axelmontagne.bsky.social
🚨 PhD Programme – Vascular Dementia Research

New 4-year PhD funded by BHF & UK DRI on vascular mechanisms in dementia.

Training across UCL, Oxford, Leicester & Edinburgh with lab rotations.

📅 Deadline: 14 April
🎓 Start: Sept 2026

Apply: CV + statement + 2 refs → [email protected]

Please share!
March 6, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
haoyin.bsky.social
Development of the blood–brain barrier

👉Neural Progenitor-to-Endothelium
Wnt7a/7b-RECK-GPR124-FZD
Norrin-TSPAN12-LRP5/6-FZD4

👉Pericyte/Astrocyte-to-Endothelium
Angiotensin II
Angiopoietin 1
Shh

Circumventricular organ ❎BBB◀️WIF1

#Development 2026
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
January 26, 2026 at 12:49 PM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
ukdri.ac.uk
The BHF-UK DRI Centre for Vascular Dementia Research welcomes Dr Mohamad El Amki(University of Zurich) for the first seminar in our vascular dementia series 🗣️

Don't miss your chance to register at the link below!
lnkd.in/ex5M-EZX
January 19, 2026 at 9:23 AM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
ukdri.ac.uk
💫 A top highlight from last year was the official launch of our new Centre dedicated to revolutionising understanding and treatment of vascular dementia, in partnership with the British Heart Foundation ♥️

Find out more 👉 youtu.be/g8KLVN1ODfs?...
BHF - UK DRI Centre for Vascular Dementia Research
YouTube video by UK Dementia Research Institute - UK DRI
youtu.be
January 5, 2026 at 1:04 PM
axelmontagne.bsky.social
📢 PhD fellowship opportunity in Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Deadline: Friday 9 📅
Apply now 👇🏻
axelmontagne.bsky.social Axel Montagne @axelmontagne.bsky.social · Dec 12
🧠 An exciting fully funded 4-year PhD at the Universities of Edinburgh & Manchester with Drs. Ingo Schiessl, Audrey Chagnot, and myself!

📅 Deadline: Jan 9!

📝 Details are below 👇🏻

Please circulate this widely, thanks!
axelmontagne.bsky.social Axel Montagne @axelmontagne.bsky.social · Dec 3
🚀 Fully funded 4-yr PhD @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social & @officialuom.bsky.social on the vascular origins of Alzheimer’s (advanced imaging + proteomics)

Supervisors: Drs. Axel Montagne, Ingo Schiessl, and Audrey Chagnot

Join the VIDA DTC & @alzheimerssoc partnership

👉 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
January 5, 2026 at 9:42 AM
axelmontagne.bsky.social
🧠 An exciting fully funded 4-year PhD at the Universities of Edinburgh & Manchester with Drs. Ingo Schiessl, Audrey Chagnot, and myself!

📅 Deadline: Jan 9!

📝 Details are below 👇🏻

Please circulate this widely, thanks!
December 12, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
fowlerlab.bsky.social
PhD opportunity in my lab, co-supervised by Karen Horsburgh and @axelmontagne.bsky.social

Combining neuroimaging (MRI/PET) with spatial transcriptomic approaches to understand ageing related white matter alterations

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
EASTBIO Transcriptomic signatures underlying neuroimaging white matter inflammation and abnormalities in the ageing brain at University of Edinburgh on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - EASTBIO Transcriptomic signatures underlying neuroimaging white matter inflammation and abnormalities in the ageing brain at University of Edinburgh, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:41 PM
axelmontagne.bsky.social
🚀 Fully funded 4-yr PhD @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social & @officialuom.bsky.social on the vascular origins of Alzheimer’s (advanced imaging + proteomics)

Supervisors: Drs. Axel Montagne, Ingo Schiessl, and Audrey Chagnot

Join the VIDA DTC & @alzheimerssoc partnership

👉 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
VIDA DTC - Decoding the Vascular Origins of Alzheimer’s Disease Through Advanced Imaging and Proteomic at University of Edinburgh on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - VIDA DTC - Decoding the Vascular Origins of Alzheimer’s Disease Through Advanced Imaging and Proteomic at University of Edinburgh, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
cathnaledi.bsky.social
I'm hiring! Come and work with me at UCL to try and understand how the brain's blood vessels go wrong and promote dementia: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
www.ucl.ac.uk
November 27, 2025 at 9:01 AM
axelmontagne.bsky.social
Exciting PhD opportunity in beautiful Edinburgh: discover how ageing and vascular dementia biology maps onto neuroimaging signals. Using cutting-edge spatial transcriptomics + a new TSPO PET ligand, this project probes the immune-vascular mechanisms driving white matter decline.

shorturl.at/8fMmA
EASTBIO Transcriptomic signatures underlying neuroimaging white matter inflammation and abnormalities in the ageing brain at University of Edinburgh on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - EASTBIO Transcriptomic signatures underlying neuroimaging white matter inflammation and abnormalities in the ageing brain at University of Edinburgh, listed on FindAPhD.com
eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
sorengrubb.bsky.social
New on bioRxiv! 🚨
“Pericyte and Endothelial Primary Cilia and Centrioles have Disparate Organization Across the Brain Microvasculature”
This project studying #microvascular cells took an unexpected turn when we discovered that #pericytes have primary #cilia!
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧪 🧵1/8
November 20, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
cp-neuron.bsky.social
The brain neurovascular epigenome and its association with dementia
Ziegler et al. reveal distinct genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease and cerebral small vessel disease within neurovascular cells, identifying immune-related AD risk and broad neurovascular involvement in SVD. They highlight novel regulatory pathways and potential therapeutic targets, advancing understanding of these comorbid conditions for future treatment strategies.
dlvr.it
October 30, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
currentbiology.bsky.social
The #brain is often viewed as rather separate from the rest of body. One way it is separated somewhat is the BBB — the blood-brain-barrier.

Fabulous primer by @axelmontagne.bsky.social and Audrey Chagnot

www.cell.com/current-biol...
The blood–brain barrier
Here, Audrey Chagnot and Axel Montagne discuss the structural and functional features of the blood–brain barrier and the association of its disruption with various pathologies.
www.cell.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:54 PM
axelmontagne.bsky.social
Excited to share our Current Biology Primer written with Dr. Audrey Chagnot in the Brain-Body Interactions special issue!

We discuss how the BBB works, what happens when it breaks down, and why this matters for brain and body health.

@ukdri.ac.uk @thebhf.bsky.social

shorturl.at/NNc57
The blood–brain barrier
In animals, the central nervous system (CNS) plays a crucial role as the primary organ responsible for integrating environmental information and coord…
shorturl.at
October 20, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
ruizdealmodovar.bsky.social
Interested in the heterogeneity of blood vessels in the CNS? Here we review the unique features of the spinal cord vasculature, its barrier properties and neurovascular interactions, highlighting unknown aspects and future research directions.
@CRC1366
@erc.europa.eu @immunosens.bsky.social
October 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
ukdri.ac.uk
🌟 New job opportunity 🌟

Based within the UK DRI at Edinburgh, the Rajani Lab investigates the mechanisms of white matter damage in vascular and other dementias.

Find out more and apply via the link

🗓️ Apply by 22 October 2025

📌 Full details 👉 tinyurl.com/22y73642
October 6, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Reposted by Axel Montagne
ukdri.ac.uk
Congratulations to Dr Maura Malpetti (UK DRI at Cambridge), who has won the 2025 European Young Researcher Award from the Fondation Recherche Alzheimer in France. 🎉👏

Read the full story 👉 tinyurl.com/243s9tuf
Maura Malpetti congratulations graphic
September 25, 2025 at 3:50 PM