Polina Merbaum

Hi, my name is Polina Merbaum. I have a background in medicine, particularly in neurology. After completing my MD degree and a two-year residency at the department of Algology and Peripheral Nervous System Diseases at Sechenov University, Moscow, Russian Federation, I have worked as a researcher. My field of interest was the prognosis of the outcome in patients with both Medication Overuse Headache and Migraine. During this study, I gained a wide clinical experience and analytical skills. To improve my ability in data analysis I took a Certificate Course in IBM Data Science Specialization.

Currently, I am enrolled in a Neuroscience Master Student Programme at Erasmus MC. In the Adams lab, I am working on the validation of cell-free DNA detection as a method in neurodegeneration research. With this project, our research group will establish biomarkers based on methylation patterns of cell-free DNA derived from various brain regions which might be used as evaluation tools in such disorders as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or frontotemporal dementia.

Since 2018 I am also a guest lecturer and a discussion club mentor at the University of Children, Moscow – an educational project that allows kids from 7 to 17 to have a closer look into science apart from formal education. I am convinced that only the one who can explain a complicated phenomenon to a child can truly understand it himself.