People

Dr Fergal Waldron

Dr Fergal Waldron
Dr Fergal Waldron
Dr Fergal Waldron

BSc MSc MRes PhD (Cantab.)

Advanced Research Fellow

About
Office Address
5.15.5 Institute of Medical Sciences
Foresterhill Campus
Ashgrove Road West
AB25 2ZD

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School/Department
School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
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Biography

My research centres on the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases and the understanding of disease heterogeneity to inform precision-prevention and precision-medicine approaches aimed at improving clinical outcomes for patients and individuals at risk of neurodegenerative conditions. My research is particularly focused on the basic and comparative aetiology and pathobiology of ALS/MND, FTD, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.

This work spans peripheral and systemic signatures of neurodegenerative disease, biomarker discovery and development (esp. aptamers), non-motor and systemic disease manifestations—including the role of the gut—co-pathologies and multiproteinopathies, the role of the immune system, and the synthesis of epidemiological and biological data to better understand disease heterogeneity.

I am also interested in the application of artificial intelligence and meta-analytical approaches to integrate complex biological, clinical, and population-level datasets, to support data-driven discovery, and translate complex research findings into clinically meaningful insights.

My research adopts an integrative, multidisciplinary approach informed by a broad range of research and training in classical and evolutionary genetics, genomics, data analytics and modelling, bioinformatics, molecular biology, experimental biology, neuroscience and immunity.

A central aim of my research is to translate discoveries into practical tools, resources and insights that can be used in clinical care and research, enabling preventive or disease-modifying therapies, improving clinical trial design, and ultimately improving outcomes for people with, or at risk of, neurodegenerative diseases.

 

Qualifications

  • BSc Zoology 
    2003 - National University of Ireland, Galway 
  • MRes Zoology 
    2006 - National University of Ireland, Galway 
  • MSc Evolutionary Genetics and Genome Analysis 
    2008 - University of Edinburgh 
  • PhD Evolutionary Genetics 
    2013 - University of Cambridge 

Internal Memberships

The Genetics Society

The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland

Latest Publications

  • Machine learning identifies routine blood tests as accurate predictive measures of pollution-dependent poor cognitive function

    Johnson, H., Longden, J., Cameron, G., Waiter, G. D., Waldron, F. M., Gregory, J. M., Spence, H.
    Scientific Reports
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Theragnostic potential of aptamers in neurodegenerative diseases: A protocol for a sytematic review and meta-analysis v1

    Jackson, A. T., Waldron, F. M., Tartaglia, G. G., Gregory, J.
    Other Contributions: Other Contributions

  • Protein misfolding enteropathy predicts and prognosticates neurodegenerative disease years before symptom onset

    Langerová, T., MacVicar, E., Press, R., Read, F. L., Piana, M., Murdoch, S., Innes, J., Wilson, J., Watson, A. J., Waldron, F. M., Ramsay, G., Gregory, J. M.
    Gastroenterology
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Metabolic signatures of ferritin and TDP-43 co-pathology provide a mechanistic basis for stratified therapeutic approaches in ALS

    Spence, H., Read, F., Waldron, F., Gregory, J.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers

  • Genotype-specific interferon signatures in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis relate to disease severity

    Carletta, O., Perfetto, C., Rifai, O. M., Manganelli, F., Waldron, F., Maniatis, T., Gregory, J., Gerbino, V.
    Brain, vol. 149, no. 2, pp. 489-501
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

View My Publications

Research

Funding and Grants

Statistical frameworks for the evaluation of undiagnosed gut proteinopathies as early indicators of neurological disease (PI): £19,930 | 2025 | Grant | NHS Grampian

A Laboratory Model for Antiviral Immunity in Molluscs (co-writer); £201,732 | 2018-06 to 2021-10 | Grant | The Leverhulme Trust (London, GB)

Establishment of a Laboratory Model for Antiviral Immunity in Molluscs (co-writer); £44,364 | 2017-04 to 2017-12 | Grant | Wellcome Trust ISSF (London, GB)

Antiviral immune expression in the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis (co-writer); £1,791 | 2017-02 to 2017-06 | Grant | University of Edinburgh Moray Endowement Fund (Edinburgh, GB)

Next Generation Sequencing workshop hosted by the Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics Registration and Travel Award; €1,000 | 2011-05 to 2011-06 | AwardEuropean Science Foundation (Strasbourg, FR)

St. John’s College, Cambridge Learning and Research Fund; £1,000 | 2010-06 to 2010-07 | Award | St. John's College, University of Cambridge (Cambridge, GB)

Summer Institute in Statistics and Modelling in Infectious Diseases workshop hosted by The University of Washington Registration and Travel Award; $4,000 | 2010-06 to 2010-07 | Award | National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland, US)

Marie Curie Early Stage Research Fellowship; £24,055 | 2007-09 to 2008-08 | Salary award | Marie Curie (London, GB)

Embark Initiative Thermadapt Programme Research Fellowship; €38,012 | 2003-09 to 2005-08 | Salary award | Irish Research Council (Dublin, IE)

Publications

Page 2 of 5 Results 11 to 20 of 49

  • FUS mislocalization rewires a cortical gene network to drive cognitive and behavioral impairment in ALS

    Cassel, R., Lorenc, F., Bombardier, A., De Tapia, C., Dieterle, S., Gouveia Roque, C., Jackson, C. A., Stuart-Lopez, G., Rouaux, C., Guillot, S. J., Birling, M., Kessler, P., Grassano, M., Traynor, B., Chio, A., Roy, R., Shorter, J., Waldron, F., Gregory, J., Phatnani, H., Dupuis, L., Megat, S.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers

  • Computationally Designed RNA Aptamers Enable Selective Detection of FUS Pathology in ALS

    Zacco, E., Armaos, A., Waldron, F., Rupert, J., Schneider, N., Gregory, J., Tartaglia, G. G.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers

  • Fingerprinting disease-derived protein aggregates reveals unique signature of Motor Neuron Disease

    Cox, D., Burke, M., Milani, S., White, M. A., Waldron, F., Böken, D., Lobanova, E., Sreedharan, J., Gregory, J., Klenerman, D.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers

  • Improving ALS detection and cognitive impairment stratification with attention-enhanced deep learning models

    Xia, Y., Gregory, J. M., Waldron, F. M., Spence, H., Vallejo, M.
    Scientific Reports, vol. 15, no. 1, 7045
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Organellomics: AI-driven deep organellar phenotyping reveals novel ALS mechanisms in human neurons

    Krispin, S., van Zuiden, W., Danino, Y. M., Molitor, L., Rudberg, N., Bar, C., Coyne, A., Meimoun, T., Waldron, F., Gregory, J., Fisher, T., Nachshon, A., Stern-Ginossar, N., Yacovzada, N., Horstein, E.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers

  • Machine learning identifies routine blood tests as accurate predictive measures of pollution-dependent poor cognitive function

    Johnson, H., Longden, J., Cameron, G., Waiter, G. D., Waldron, F. M., Gregory, J. M., Spence, H.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers

  • Clinicopathological analysis of NEK1 variants in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

    Rifai, O. M., Waldron, F., Sleibi, D., O'shaughnessy, J., Leighton, D. J., Gregory, J.
    Brain Pathology, vol. 35, no. 1, e13287
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Integrating Transfer Learning and Attention Mechanisms for Accurate ALS Diagnosis and Cognitive Impairment Detection

    Xia, Y., Gregory, J. M., Waldron, F. M., Spence, H., Vallejo, M.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers

  • An adaptable protocol for antibody & TDP-43 RNA aptamer dual immunohistochemical staining for FFPE-preserved human tissue: with SOP and tick-sheet

    Waldron, F., Gregory, J.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers

  • Antibody and TDP-43 RNA aptamer dual staining to detect patterns of co-pathology in FFPE-preserved human tissue, as described in Rifai et al., 2024 (Brain Pathology): A SOP and tick-sheet. V1

    Waldron, F., Rifai, O. M., Gregory, J.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers
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