The VAST Summer Program encompasses a series of workshops and seminars targeted to undergraduate trainees in the field of VCI to help with overall VCI knowledge, research skills, and networking. While targeted to undergraduates, all are welcome to attend. This series is coordinated by our VAST Trainee Curriculum Committee members.
It culminates in the VAST Summer Student Symposium where the students have the opportunity to share the work that they’ve been doing over the last few months.
We are excited to have Dr. Caroline Dallaire-Théroux join us as our keynote speaker for this year’s Summer Student Symposium. Her talk, titled “BBB Matters: Uncovering Metabolic and Vascular Dysfunction Through Blood-Based Biomarkers in Alzheimer’s Disease” will highlight the value of blood-based biomarkers in capturing key metabolic and vascular changes across the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum. Specifically, it will examine three peripheral markers of metabolic dysfunction – adiponectin, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21), and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP-2) – and their associations with clinical stages of the disease. Preliminary findings on serum placental growth factor (PlGF) will also be presented, aiming to establish its role as a potential marker of concomitant cerebrovascular pathology in AD. These blood-based biomarkers offer promising avenues for understanding disease mechanisms, providing accessible diagnostic and monitoring tools, and guiding new therapeutic strategies.
Caroline Dallaire-Théroux is a newly graduated neurologist and postdoctoral fellow at Université Laval, with a research focus on radiological and serum biomarkers in age-related neurocognitive disorders. She has a particular interest in vascular etiologies of cognitive decline, such as cerebral small vessel diseases. She will soon pursue further training in Cognitive Neurology at University of Calgary, specializing in cerebral amyloid angiopathy and vascular cognitive impairment.
View the 2025 VAST Summer Symposium Program here.
Interested in attending? Register to be part of the VAST network via the link at the top of the page.