While predictions can be dangerous, especially concerning the future, it's usually helpful to plan ahead. Here are five biomedical research topics the Lab Land team thinks will claim some attention in 2015.

1. Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's research appears to be confusing and contradictory right now. Large pharmaceutical companies are shutting down clinical trials in frustration, but researchers keep coming forward with biomarkers that might predict future disease. This situation calls for some new thinking. Emory neurologists Allan Levey, Jim Lah and colleagues have been preparing the way for a “beyond the usual suspects” look at Alzheimer's disease. Two things to look forward to are Levey's appearance at the 2015 AAAS meeting and to drug discovery wizard Keqiang Ye's continuing work on new therapeutic targets.

2. Ebola
While the scare over Ebola in the United States may be over (we hope so!), the outbreak continues to devastate communities in West Africa. Clinical trials testing vaccines and experimental drugs are underway or will be soon. So far, Emory doctors have been able to report how individual patients were successfully treated in a hospital setting here, even in the face of significant challenges. This year, we may see more examples of how Emory researchers are contributing to vaccine and drug development efforts.

3. Hypersomnia
Emory neurologist David Rye and colleagues made a splash in 2012 with the successful treatment of a patient with idiopathic hypersomnia. Some progress has been made on an alternative to once-scarce flumazenil and more information could be forthcoming this year. A conference on hypersomnia held last year in Atlanta will return in July, this time to the Emory Conference Center Hotel. The keynote speaker will be neurologist Isabelle Arnulf from Paris.

4. Microbiome/antibiotic resistance
This is a hot topic in biomedical research right now. The microbes that live on and in humans contribute to the function of the immune system (example: Bali Pulendran's work on responses to flu vaccines), the nervous system, cardiovascular disease; the list goes on and on. Expect to see more from Emory researchers in this area. That includes investigators interested in antibiotic resistance.

5. Endovascular stroke
Physicians specializing in stroke treatment have been making advances in the area of clot removal. Results from the MR CLEAN study in the Netherlands were at the edge of what is expected to be a wave of exciting clinical trial findings. Since the Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center at Grady Memorial Hospital was designed with this type of treatment in mind and Emory has top experts participating in these studies, look for more on this topic.