Neuroimaging and therapeutics of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive aging
My research focuses on neuroimaging and therapeutic studies of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and cognitive aging. My current imaging research utilizes positron emission tomography (PET) to study the beta-amyloid (Aβ) and tau proteins, as well as the synaptic targets SV2A and mGluR5. My team and I are examining the full spectrum of AD, including AD-dementia, the prodromal condition of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI), and preclinical AD—in individuals at high familial and genetic risk. I also have extensive experience in the conduct and leadership of therapeutic trials in AD. Since 1991 I have led or participated in approximately 100 clinical trials for AD, including the prodromal or preclinical stages. The mission of the Wu Tsai Institute is to understand human cognition and explore human potential through interdisciplinary inquiry. My research interests thus intersect with this mission by providing the critical human link for many faculty whose research is focused on preclinical models. In particular, our human molecular neuroimaging studies can provide translation of preclinical models of brain aging and AD pathogenesis. Similarly, our human clinical trials can test therapeutic mechanisms derived from animal models of aging and age-related diseases.
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Biography
I am a graduate of Yale College, Northwestern Medical School, and psychiatry residency and fellowships in geriatric psychiatry and neuroimaging at Yale School of Medicine. I subsequently joined the faculty at Yale where I am Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Neuroscience, Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, the Alzheimer?s Disease Research Center, and the Division of Aging and Geriatric Psychiatry. I am married to Professor Amy Arnsten, and we have two adult children?a son who is a rock musician, and a daughter who is a physician.