Rate My Professor Eric Harshfield

Dr Eric Harshfield is an Assistant Research Professor and Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. He works at the intersection of human genetics, epidemiology, and neurodegeneration, with a focus on unravelling the molecular mechanisms of vascular dementia to develop new approaches for prediction, prevention, and treatment. His research programme uses large-scale multi-omics and electronic health records datasets, applying advanced computational methods to translate high-dimensional data into biologically meaningful and clinically relevant insights. Since 2018, he has been based in the Stroke Research Group, and his current work is funded by the Alzheimer’s Society. The programme has two main aims: using multi-omics biomarkers to enhance prediction of vascular dementia and the vascular component of other neurodegenerative diseases, and investigating mechanistic pathways to prioritise therapeutic targets. He is actively working to establish an internationally recognised research group focused on precision medicine approaches for vascular dementia, including identifying data-driven patient subtypes and subtype-specific therapeutic targets.

Key publications include “Association of baseline metabolomic profiles with incident stroke and dementia and with imaging markers of cerebral small vessel disease” (Neurology, 2023), “Metabolomic profiling in small vessel disease identifies multiple associations with disease severity” (Brain, 2022), and “Proteins involved in endothelial function and inflammation are implicated in cerebral small vessel disease” (Stroke, 2025). Additional recent work covers topics such as optimising treatment of cardiovascular risk factors in cerebral small vessel disease using genetics (Brain, 2025), sleep characteristics and risk of stroke and dementia (Neurology, 2024), and antithrombotic treatment for cervical artery dissection (JAMA Neurology, 2024). Dr Harshfield collaborates with colleagues including Professor Hugh Markus and is pleased to consider applications from prospective PhD students.