Marianna Cortese
Senior Research Scientist
Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Departments
Department of Nutrition
Biography
Dr. Marianna Cortese earned her medical degree from the University of Heidelberg in Germany in 2013 and completed her Ph.D. in Epidemiology at the University of Bergen in Norway in 2017, where she focused on risk factors and early signs of multiple sclerosis (MS). She joined the Neuroepidemiology Research Group at the Department of Nutrition in 2018, where she currently serves as a Senior Research Scientist.
Dr. Cortese’s research focuses on identifying risk factors and biomarkers for the onset and progression of neurologic and immune-mediated diseases for which there is currently no cure, including MS, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and type 1 diabetes. She utilizes data from unique prospective cohorts—such as the Nurses’ Health Studies, the U.S. military cohort, the Finnish Maternity Cohort, the BENEFIT trial follow-up, the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, and the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort—to address key knowledge gaps and promote brain health across the life course.
She has made critical contributions to our understanding of MS, including pioneering prospective studies on the prodromal phase of the disease. These investigations helped redefine the "true" onset of MS, shifting both clinical and research focus toward earlier detection and intervention. Furthermore, her landmark study published in Science in 2022 provided the most compelling evidence to date that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the leading cause of MS. Recognized by Science magazine as one of the top ten scientific breakthroughs of the year, this work has garnered international attention and catalyzed major investment into EBV-related MS research, including the development of vaccines and antiviral therapies. Dr. Cortese is a key collaborator on one of two large Horizon Europe projects recently funded to advance this work.
Her current research aims to generate critical evidence for MS and other neurologic and immune-mediated conditions. She is leading work to identify a metabolomic signature of MS severity in blood samples collected during the earliest disease stages. In addition, she is developing two large projects focused on: (1) novel biomarkers and risk factors for MS progression and symptomatology; and (2) the role of EBV strain variation in MS onset and progression. She is also investigating the prediagnostic viral immune response and emergence of autoantibodies in adult-onset type 1 diabetes, and is exploring early biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease using sebum analysis.
Education and Training
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M.D., Medicine
University of Heidelberg -
Ph.D., Epidemiology
University of Bergen