Heidi Jacobs obtained her master’s degree in Biological Psychology from Maastricht University (Netherlands) in 2002. She then worked for several years in a clinical setting as a psychotherapist and neuropsychologist and in 2006 started her PhD. She completed her PhD on structural and functional brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease at Maastricht University in 2011. After her postdoctoral training at the Research Center in Jülich (Germany), she received the prestigious VENI-independence award allowing her to return to the Netherlands in 2014. In 2015, Heidi started working at MGH with Dr. Keith Johnson and Dr. Reisa Sperling within the Harvard Aging Brain Study. Currently, Heidi is an Assistant Professor of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard Medical School and honorary associate professor at Maastricht University. She directs the Jacobs Lab, also referred to as the blue spotters, with a focus on improving the early detection and treatment of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease by targeting the earliest brain sites of pathology (“ground zero”). She is a co-investigator within the Harvard Aging Brain Study and vice-chair of the “neuromodulatory subcortical systems” professional interest area of ISTAART. Her work is currently supported by the NIH-NIA and Alzheimer foundation funding.