Thomas K Karikari, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical and Translational Science

Current Appointments

  • Director, Biomarker and Neurogenetics Core, University of Pittsburgh Alzheimers Disease Research Center
  • Director, Biofluid Biomarker Laboratory
  • Director, Research Partnerships and Strategic Alliances
  • Director, Single Molecule Analytics Program
  • Director, Mass Spectrometry Program
  • Endowed Faculty Fellow, Peripheral Biomarkers for Brain Disorders

Areas of Expertise

  • Older Adults
Thomas Karikari, PhD
Expertise & Interests Selected Publications Education & Credentials Related News

Expertise & Interests

Research Interests

Alzheimers disease and neurological disorders; Proteomics; Blood biomarkers

Clinical Interests

Clinical use and interpretation of blood biomarker

Education Interests

Clinical and research practice guidelines; Postdoctoral fellows & residents research training; Graduate and medical student research training

Selected Publications

  1. Islam T, Hill E, Abrahamson EE, Servaes S, Smirnov DS, Zeng X, Sehrawat A, Chen Y, Kac PR, Kvartsberg H, Olsson M, Sjons E, Gonzalez-Ortiz F, Therriault J, Tissot C, Del Popolo I, Rahmouni N, Richardson A, Mitchell V, Zetterberg H, Pascoal TA, Lashley T, Wall MJ, Galasko D, Rosa-Neto P, Ikonomovic MD, Blennow K, Karikari TK. Phospho-tau serine-262 and serine-356 as biomarkers of pre-tangle soluble tau assemblies in Alzheimer's disease. Nat Med. 2025 31(2):574-588.
  2. Sehrawat A, Zeng X, Abrahamson EE, Deek RA, Gogola A, Kamboh MI, Pascoal TA, Villemagne VL, Lopez OL, Ikonomovic MD, Snitz BE, Cohen AD, Karikari TK. Pittsburgh plasma p-tau217: Classification accuracies for autosomal dominant and sporadic Alzheimer's disease in the community. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 21(7):e70409.
  3. Zeng X, Lafferty TK, Sehrawat A, Chen Y, Ferreira PCL, Bellaver B, Povala G, Kamboh MI, Klunk WE, Cohen AD, Lopez OL, Ikonomovic MD, Pascoal TA, Ganguli M, Villemagne VL, Snitz BE, Karikari TK. Multi-analyte proteomic analysis identifies blood-based neuroinflammation, cerebrovascular and synaptic biomarkers in preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Mol Neurodegener. 2024 19(1):68.
  4. Kac PR, Gonzlez-Ortiz F, Emeric A, Dulewicz M, Koutarapu S, Turton M, An Y, Smirnov D, Kulczynska-Przybik A, Varma VR, Ashton NJ, Montoliu-Gaya L, Camporesi E, Winkel I, Paradowski B, Moghekar A, Troncoso JC, Lashley T, Brinkmalm G, Resnick SM, Mroczko B, Kvartsberg H, Gregoric Kramberger M, Hanrieder J, Cucnik S, Harrison P, Zetterberg H, Lewczuk P, Thambisetty M, Rot U, Galasko D, Blennow K, Karikari TK. Plasma p-tau212 antemortem diagnostic performance and prediction of autopsy verification of Alzheimer's disease neuropathology. Nat Commun. 2024 15(1):2615.
  5. Gonzalez-Ortiz F, Turton M, Kac PR, Smirnov D, Premi E, Ghidoni R, Benussi L, Cantoni V, Saraceno C, Rivolta J, Ashton NJ, Borroni B, Galasko D, Harrison P, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Karikari TK. Brain-derived tau: a novel blood-based biomarker for Alzheimer's disease-type neurodegeneration. Brain. 2023 146(3):1152-1165.
  6. Gildengers A, Weinstein AM, Gujral S, Zeng X, Diaz JL, Lafferty TK, Cowie M, Emanuel JE, Lopez O, Royse SK, Lopresti B, Karikari TK. Where Do Plasma Biomarkers fit in With Current Alzheimer's Disease Detection? Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2025 33(4):428-437.
  7. Dresse MT, Ferreira PCL, Prasadan A, Diaz JL, Zeng X, Bellaver B, Povala G, Villemagne VL, Kamboh MI, Cohen AD, Pascoal TA, Ganguli M, Snitz BE, Shaaban CE, Karikari TK. Plasma biomarkers identify brain ATN abnormalities in a dementia-free population-based cohort. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2025 17(1):173.
  8. Olvera-Rojas M, Sewell KR, Karikari TK, Huang H, Oberlin LE, Zeng X, Morris JK, Collins AM, Drake JA, Sutton BP, Kramer AF, Hillman CH, Vidoni ED, Burns JM, Kamboh MI, McAuley E, Marsland AL, Chen Y, Lafferty TK, Sehrawat A, Jakicic JM, Wan L, Kang C, Erickson KI. Influence of medical conditions on the diagnostic accuracy of plasma p-tau217 and p-tau217/A42. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 21(2):e14430.
  9. Gonzalez-Ortiz F, Kirsebom BE, Contador J, Tanley JE, Selnes P, Gsladttir B, Plhaugen L, Suhr Hemminghyth M, Jarholm J, Skogseth R, Brthen G, Grndtvedt G, Bjrnerud A, Tecelao S, Waterloo K, Aarsland D, Fernndez-Lebrero A, Garca-Escobar G, Navalpotro-Gmez I, Turton M, Hesthamar A, Kac PR, Nilsson J, Luchsinger J, Hayden KM, Harrison P, Puig-Pijoan A, Zetterberg H, Hughes TM, Surez-Calvet M, Karikari TK*, Fladby T*, Blennow K*. *joint senior authors. Plasma brain-derived tau is an amyloid-associated neurodegeneration biomarker in Alzheimer's disease. Nat Commun. 2024 15(1):2908.
  10. Gonzalez-Ortiz F, Dulewicz M, Ashton NJ, Kac PR, Zetterberg H, Andersson E, Yakoub Y, Hanrieder J, Turton M, Harrison P, Nellgrd B, Karikari TK, Blennow K. Association of Serum Brain-Derived Tau With Clinical Outcome and Longitudinal Change in Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 6(7):e2321554.
  11. Palmqvist S, Whitson HE, Allen LA, Suarez-Calvet M, Galasko D, Karikari TK, Okrahvi HR, Paczynski M, Schindler SE, Teunissen CE, Zetterberg H, Carrillo MC, Edelmayer RM, Mahinrad S, McAteer MB, Kahale LA, Pahlke S, Tampi MP. Alzheimer's Association Clinical Practice Guideline on the use of blood-based biomarkers in the diagnostic workup of suspected Alzheimer's disease within specialized care settings. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 21(7):e70535.
  12. Zeng X, Chen Y, Sehrawat A, Lee J, Lafferty TK, Kofler J, Berman SB, Sweet RA, Tudorascu DL, Klunk WE, Ikonomovic MD, Pfister A, Zetterberg H, Snitz BE, Cohen AD, Villemagne VL, Pascoal TA, Kamboh MI, Lopez OI, Blennow K, Karikari TK. Alzheimer blood biomarkers: practical guidelines for study design, sample collection, processing, biobanking, measurement and result reporting. Mol Neurodegener. 2024 19(1):40.
  13. Balogun WG, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Karikari TK. Plasma biomarkers for neurodegenerative disorders: Ready for prime time? Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2023 36(2):112-118.
  14. Gonzalez-Ortiz F, Kac PR, Brum WS, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Karikari TK. Plasma phospho-tau in Alzheimer's disease: towards diagnostic and therapeutic trial applications. Mol Neurodegener. 2023 18(1):18.
  15. Karikari TK, Ashton NJ, Brinkmalm G, Brum WS, Benedet AL, Montoliu-Gaya L, Lantero-Rodriguez J, Pascoal TA, Surez-Calvet M, Rosa-Neto P, Blennow K, Zetterberg H. Blood phospho-tau in Alzheimer disease: analysis, interpretation, and clinical utility. Nat Rev Neurol. 2022 18(7):400-418.

Education & Credentials

Education & Training

Education
PhD, Neuroscience, University of Warwick, Life Sciences (Neuroscience Focus)
Postdoctoral
Clinical Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg
Postdoctoral
Molecular Neuroscience, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Professional Affiliations

  • Member, International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART)

Selected Honors & Awards

  • Chancellors Distinguished Research Award, University of Pittsburgh
  • 2025 Highly Cited Researcher, Clarivate
  • 2025 Top Ten African Scholars to Watch, The Africa Report
  • Best Alzheimer Publication Award, Swedish Alzheimer Foundation
  • Career Development Fellowship, International Society for Neurochemistry
  • Astrup Prize in Clinical Chemistry, Nordic Federation for Clinical Chemistry

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