Argentina Lario Lago, PhD
Associate Researcher
Neurology
School of Medicine

To address this question, she used a multidisciplinary approach combining a plethora of techniques from biochemistry to imaging and electrophysiology, amongst others. During her postdoc, she continued working on the molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity using electrophysiology as her main tool in the laboratory of Dr. Roger Nicoll at UCSF. She then became the electrophysiologist of Dr. Lisa Gunaydin's laboratory, also at UCSF, where she contributed to a better understanding of the brain circuits underlying anxiety-related behaviors. Argentina joined the MAC in 2020 to put all those years of basic research to good use outside the bench, but not far from the science.

• BDNF Val66Met polymorphism moderates associations between physical activity and neurocognitive outcomes in older adults.
  Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.) 2025 Cadwallader CJ, VandeBunte AM, Fischer DL, Chen C, Diaz VE, Lee SY, Chan B, Lario-Lago A, Rojas JC, Ramos EM, Rexach JE, Yokoyama JS, Kramer JH, Paolillo EW, Saloner R, Casaletto KB
• Association of [18F]Flortaucipir-PET and plasma p-tau217 with tau neuropathology in AD and other neurodegenerative disorders.
  medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences 2025 Vrillon A, Spina S, Mejia-Perez J, Lamore T, Yballa C, Soleimani-Meigooni DN, Blazhenets G, Boxer AL, Rojas JC, Lago AL, Jagust WJ, Miller BL, Rosen HJ, Seeley WW, Grinberg LT, Rabinovici GD, …
• Large-scale network analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid proteome identifies molecular signatures of frontotemporal lobar degeneration.
  Nature aging 2025 Saloner R, Staffaroni AM, Dammer EB, Johnson ECB, Paolillo EW, Wise A, Heuer HW, Forsberg LK, Lario-Lago A, Webb JD, Vogel JW, Santillo AF, Hansson O, Kramer JH, Miller BL, Li J, Loureiro J, …
• Deciphering distinct genetic risk factors for FTLD-TDP pathological subtypes via whole-genome sequencing.
  Nature communications 2025 Pottier C, Küçükali F, Baker M, Batzler A, Jenkins GD, van Blitterswijk M, Vicente CT, De Coster W, Wynants S, Van de Walle P, Ross OA, Murray ME, Faura J, Haggarty SJ, van Rooij JG, Mol MO, Hsiung GR…
• Relationships between blood pressure indicators and fluid biomarkers of brain aging in functionally intact older adults.
  Alzheimer's research & therapy 2025 VandeBunte AM, Ortiz BL, Paolillo EW, Saloner R, Diaz V, Dutt S, Cadwallader CJ, Chen C, Lago AL, Rojas JC, Chan B, Sible I, Kramer JH, Casaletto KB
• Comprehensive cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons of plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein and neurofilament light across FTD spectrum disorders.
  Molecular neurodegeneration 2025 Sheth U, Öijerstedt L, Heckman MG, White LJ, Heuer HW, Lario Lago A, Forsberg LK, Faber KM, Foroud TM, Rademakers R, Ramos EM, Appleby BS, Bozoki AC, Darby RR, Dickerson BC, Domoto-Reilly K, Galasko …
• Clinical and Imaging Features of Sporadic and Genetic Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration TDP-43 A and B.
  Annals of clinical and translational neurology 2025 Coulborn S, Schafer R, Roy ARK, Sokolowski A, Cryns NG, Leichter D, Lago AL, Ramos EM, Cobigo Y, Spina S, Grinberg LT, Geschwind DH, Gorno-Tempini ML, Kramer JH, Rosen HJ, Miller BL, Seeley WW, Perry …
• Exploring cognitive and neuroimaging profiles of dementia subtypes of individuals with dementia in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  Frontiers in aging neuroscience 2025 Ikanga J, Patel SS, Schwinne M, Obenauf C, Epenge E, Gikelekele G, Tshengele N, Kavugho I, Mampunza S, Mananga L, Teunissen CE, Rojas JC, Chan B, Lago AL, Kramer JH, Boxer AL, Jeromin A, Omba E, …
• Detection of Alzheimer Neuropathology in Alzheimer and Non-Alzheimer Clinical Syndromes With Blood-Based Biomarkers.
  JAMA neurology 2025 VandeVrede L, Cho H, Sanderson-Cimino M, Wekselman F, Cobigo Y, Gorno-Tempini ML, Heuer HW, Kramer JH, Lario Lago A, Leichter D, Ljubenkov P, Miller BL, Perry DC, Rabinovici GD, Rojas JC, Rosen HJ, …
• Clinical and neuropathological associations of plasma Aβ42/Aβ40, p-tau217 and neurofilament light in sporadic frontotemporal dementia spectrum disorders.
  Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 2025 Rajbanshi B, Prufer Q C Araujo I, VandeVrede L, Ljubenkov PA, Staffaroni AM, Heuer HW, Lario Lago A, Ramos EM, Petrucelli L, Gendron T, Dage JL, Seeley WW, Grinberg LT, Spina S, Bateman RJ, Rosen HJ, …
• Brain aging rejuvenation factors in adults with genetic and sporadic neurodegenerative disease.
  Brain communications 2025 Casaletto KB, Saloner R, Kornak J, Staffaroni AM, Villeda S, Paolillo E, VandeBunte AM, Cadwallader CJ, Lario Lago A, Webb J, Chen C, Rascovsky K, Miyagawa T, Ramos EM, Masdeu JC, Pantelyat A, …
• Preliminary reference values for Alzheimer's disease plasma biomarkers in Congolese individuals with and without dementia.
  Frontiers in aging neuroscience 2024 Ikanga J, Jean K, Medina P, Patel SS, Schwinne M, Epenge E, Gikelekele G, Tshengele N, Kavugho I, Mampunza S, Mananga L, Teunissen CE, Stringer A, Rojas JC, Chan B, Lario Lago A, Kramer JH, Boxer AL, …
• Preliminary reference values for Alzheimer's disease plasma biomarkers in Congolese individuals with and without Alzheimer's disease.
  medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences 2024 Ikanga J, Jean K, Medina P, Patel SS, Schwinne M, Epenge E, Gikelekele G, Tshengele N, Kavugho I, Mampunza S, Mananga L, Teunissen CE, Stringer A, Rojas JC, Chan B, Lago AL, Kramer JH, Boxer AL, …
• Basal parasympathetic deficits in C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion carriers relate to smaller frontoinsula and thalamus volume and lower empathy.
  NeuroImage. Clinical 2024 R K Roy A, Noohi F, Morris NA, Ljubenkov P, Heuer H, Fong J, Hall M, Lario Lago A, Rankin KP, Miller BL, Boxer AL, Rosen HJ, Seeley WW, Perry DC, Yokoyama JS, Lee SE, Sturm VE
• CSF Proteomics in Patients With Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.
  Neurology 2024 Wise A, Li J, Yamakawa M, Loureiro J, Peterson B, Worringer K, Sivasankaran R, Palma JA, Mitic L, Heuer HW, Lario-Lago A, Staffaroni AM, Clark A, Taylor J, Ljubenkov PA, Vandevrede L, Grinberg LT, …
• Clinicopathological correlation of cerebrospinal fluid alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay in a behavioral neurology autopsy cohort.
  Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association 2024 Samudra N, Fischer DL, Lenio S, Lario Lago A, Ljubenkov PA, Rojas JC, Seeley WW, Spina S, Staffaroni AM, Tablante J, Wekselman F, Lamoureux J, Concha-Marambio L, Grinberg LT, Boxer AL, VandeVrede L
• Sensitivity of the African neuropsychology battery memory subtests and learning slopes in discriminating APOE 4 and amyloid pathology in adult individuals in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  Frontiers in neurology 2024 Ikanga J, Patrick SD, Schwinne M, Patel SS, Epenge E, Gikelekele G, Tshengele N, Kavugho I, Mampunza S, Yarasheski KE, Teunissen CE, Stringer A, Levey A, Rojas JC, Chan B, Lario Lago A, Kramer JH, …
• Alterations in Lysosomal, Glial and Neurodegenerative Biomarkers in Patients with Sporadic and Genetic Forms of Frontotemporal Dementia.
  bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2024 Hsiao-Nakamoto J, Chiu CL, VandeVrede L, Ravi R, Vandenberg B, De Groot J, Tsogtbaatar B, Fang M, Auger P, Gould NS, Marchioni F, Powers CA, Davis SS, Suh JH, Alkabsh J, Heuer HW, Lago AL, Scearce-…
• Scalable plasma and digital cognitive markers for diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
  Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association 2024 Tsoy E, La Joie R, VandeVrede L, Rojas JC, Yballa C, Chan B, Lago AL, Rodriguez AM, Goode CA, Erlhoff SJ, Tee BL, Windon C, Lanata S, Kramer JH, Miller BL, Dilworth-Anderson P, Boxer AL, Rabinovici GD…
• Presence of Preoperative Neurodegeneration Biofluid Markers in Patients with Postoperative Delirium.
  Anesthesiology 2023 Leung JM, Rojas JC, Tang C, Chan B, Lario-Lago A, Boxer AL, Do Q, Kramer JH, Du Z, Du P, Sands LP, Perioperative Medicine Research Group
• Head-to-head comparison between plasma p-tau217 and flortaucipir-PET in amyloid-positive patients with cognitive impairment.
  Alzheimer's research & therapy 2023 Mundada NS, Rojas JC, Vandevrede L, Thijssen EH, Iaccarino L, Okoye OC, Shankar R, Soleimani-Meigooni DN, Lago AL, Miller BL, Teunissen CE, Heuer H, Rosen HJ, Dage JL, Jagust WJ, Rabinovici GD, Boxer …
• Plasma phosphorylated tau-217 exhibits sex-specific prognostication of cognitive decline and brain atrophy in cognitively unimpaired adults.
  Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association 2023 Saloner R, VandeVrede L, Asken BM, Paolillo EW, Gontrum EQ, Wolf A, Lario-Lago A, Milà-Alomà M, Triana-Baltzer G, Kolb HC, Dubal DB, Rabinovici GD, Miller BL, Boxer AL, Casaletto KB, Kramer JH
• Network Connectivity Alterations across the MAPT Mutation Clinical Spectrum.
  Annals of neurology 2023 Zhang L, Flagan TM, Häkkinen S, Chu SA, Brown JA, Lee AJ, Pasquini L, Mandelli ML, Gorno-Tempini ML, Sturm VE, Yokoyama JS, Appleby BS, Cobigo Y, Dickerson BC, Domoto-Reilly K, Geschwind DH, Ghoshal N…
• Alzheimer's pathology is associated with altered cognition, brain volume, and plasma biomarker patterns in traumatic encephalopathy syndrome.
  Alzheimer's research & therapy 2023 Asken BM, Tanner JA, Gaynor LS, VandeVrede L, Mantyh WG, Casaletto KB, Staffaroni AM, Fonseca C, Shankar R, Grant H, Smith K, Lago AL, Xu H, La Joie R, Cobigo Y, Rosen H, Perry DC, Rojas JC, Miller BL…
• Gamma neuromodulation improves episodic memory and its associated network in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a pilot study.
  Neurobiology of aging 2023 Jones KT, Gallen CL, Ostrand AE, Rojas JC, Wais P, Rini J, Chan B, Lago AL, Boxer A, Zhao M, Gazzaley A, Zanto TP
• Sex-specific effects of SNAP-25 genotype on verbal memory and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in clinically normal older adults.
  Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association 2023 Saloner R, Paolillo EW, Wojta KJ, Fonseca C, Gontrum EQ, Lario-Lago A, Rabinovici GD, Yokoyama JS, Rexach JE, Kramer JH, Casaletto KB
• CSF tau microtubule-binding region identifies pathological changes in primary tauopathies.
  Nature medicine 2022 Horie K, Barthélemy NR, Spina S, VandeVrede L, He Y, Paterson RW, Wright BA, Day GS, Davis AA, Karch CM, Seeley WW, Perrin RJ, Koppisetti RK, Shaikh F, Lago AL, Heuer HW, Ghoshal N, Gabelle A, Miller …
• Temporal order of clinical and biomarker changes in familial frontotemporal dementia.
  Nature medicine 2022 Staffaroni AM, Quintana M, Wendelberger B, Heuer HW, Russell LL, Cobigo Y, Wolf A, Goh SM, Petrucelli L, Gendron TF, Heller C, Clark AL, Taylor JC, Wise A, Ong E, Forsberg L, Brushaber D, Rojas JC, …
• Hepatic and renal function impact concentrations of plasma biomarkers of neuropathology.
  Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 2022 Berry K, Asken BM, Grab JD, Chan B, Lario Lago A, Wong R, Seetharaman S, LaHue SC, Possin KL, Rojas JC, Kramer JH, Boxer AL, Lai JC, VandeVrede L
• Plasma neurofilament light chain levels suggest neuroaxonal stability following therapeutic remyelination in people with multiple sclerosis.
  Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry 2022 Abdelhak A, Cordano C, Boscardin WJ, Caverzasi E, Kuhle J, Chan B, Gelfand JM, Yiu HH, Oertel FC, Beaudry-Richard A, Condor Montes S, Oksenberg JR, Lario Lago A, Boxer A, Rojas-Martinez JC, Elahi FM, …
• Ketamine increases activity of a fronto-striatal projection that regulates compulsive behavior in SAPAP3 knockout mice.
  Nature communications 2021 Davis GL, Minerva AR, Lario A, Simmler LD, Rodriguez CI, Gunaydin LA
• Plasma phosphorylated tau 217 and phosphorylated tau 181 as biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration: a retrospective diagnostic performance study.
  The Lancet. Neurology 2021 Thijssen EH, La Joie R, Strom A, Fonseca C, Iaccarino L, Wolf A, Spina S, Allen IE, Cobigo Y, Heuer H, VandeVrede L, Proctor NK, Lago AL, Baker S, Sivasankaran R, Kieloch A, Kinhikar A, Yu L, Valentin…
• A kinesin 1-protrudin complex mediates AMPA receptor synaptic removal during long-term depression.
  Cell reports 2021 Brachet A, Lario A, Fernández-Rodrigo A, Heisler FF, Gutiérrez Y, Lobo C, Kneussel M, Esteban JA
• KIF13A drives AMPA receptor synaptic delivery for long-term potentiation via endosomal remodeling.
  The Journal of cell biology 2021 Gutiérrez Y, López-García S, Lario A, Gutiérrez-Eisman S, Delevoye C, Esteban JA
• MAP1B Light Chain Modulates Synaptic Transmission via AMPA Receptor Intracellular Trapping.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2017 Palenzuela R, Gutiérrez Y, Draffin JE, Lario A, Benoist M, Esteban JA
• PTEN counteracts PIP3 upregulation in spines during NMDA-receptor-dependent long-term depression.
  Journal of cell science 2014 Arendt KL, Benoist M, Lario A, Draffin JE, Muñoz M, Esteban JA
• PTEN is recruited to the postsynaptic terminal for NMDA receptor-dependent long-term depression.
  The EMBO journal 2010 Jurado S, Benoist M, Lario A, Knafo S, Petrok CN, Esteban JA