Alzheimer’s Disease

Inspired by a childhood fascination with medical imaging, Vanderbilt Ph.D. graduate Michael Kim is using advanced brain imaging and AI to better understand Alzheimer's disease and healthy brain aging. His research is helping map the brain's communication pathways and could shape the future of precision medicine. Read More

At the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences, researchers are advancing neuroscience discoveries through molecular biology, pharmacology, drug discovery, and more. Their work seeks to understand how the brain functions in health and disease, identify new therapeutic targets, and develop innovative treatments for conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s and addiction to depression and epilepsy. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers are hunting down ways to combat Alzheimer’s by developing compounds that affect the proteins that are linked to it. TAOK-1 is such a protein, but it has not been thoroughly studied because there wasn’t a “tool compound” to study it with. Former postdoctoral fellow Daniel Schultz and Ph.D. student Lauren Parr have developed two such compounds—one that inhibits TAOK-1, and another that activates the entire TAOK protein family—through work conducted in the WCNDD, led by Executive Director Craig Lindsley. Read More

Researchers at the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, a clinical stage biotech within the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences, have detailed the successful drug discovery of a Phase I Single Ascending Dose clinical trial of VU319, a drug for memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. Read More

A Vanderbilt study of genetic risks for cognitive impairment later in life uses data from 32,426 research participants ages 60 and older to elaborate these risks across sex and across the intersection of sex and race. Read More

Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery lead researchers discover a therapy that may treat memory loss and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Read More

Biomedical engineering doctoral student Sarah Goodale has been awarded a National Institute on Aging Transition to Postdoc Fellowship for her proposed work on investigating fatigue and sleep disturbance symptoms in Alzheimer’s Disease and their relationship with functional and structural properties of the brain and intellectual decline. The National Institutes of Health NIA F99/K00 award supports... Read More

Reported June 13 in Neurology, an Alzheimer’s disease risk study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center measures significantly reduced risk associated with healthy lifestyles, including non-smoking, leisure-time exercise, low-to-moderate alcohol consumption, adequate sleep and healthy diet. Read More

Prothena and the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery have entered into a collaborative research agreement to develop new small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in individuals with Down syndrome. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers report on a new PET imaging probe that will be useful for exploring Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a nanoparticle released from cells, called a “supermere,” which contains enzymes, proteins and RNA associated with multiple cancers, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and even COVID-19. Read More

Cancer chemotherapy lowered risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurocognitive disorders that disproportionately affect older people. Read More

Changes in connectivity in the brain’s white matter may be a novel neuroimaging biomarker for assessing Alzheimer’s disease progression. Read More

Behavioral and systems neuropharmacologist Jerri Rook is recognized by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation with the Goodes Prize to continue her work in Alzheimer’s disease research. Read More

Angela Jefferson, PhD, professor of Neurology and director of the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center, has been awarded a $3.7 million, three-year grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to support establishment of a prospective NIA-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Read More

Combining studies of genetically diverse mouse populations and human data led to the identification of a gene associated with cognitive decline and brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease. Read More

Renã Robinson, associate professor of chemistry, has been immersed in science-related activities and classes since she was a child. Today, she is leading a diverse lab of researchers, using chemistry to uncover clues surrounding Alzheimer’s disease. Read More

A drug used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS is showing promise as a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. Read More

Poorly functioning AMPARs have been linked to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders including seizures, Alzheimer’s disease, major depression and autism spectrum disorder. Understanding how AMPARs are formed and operate is essential for the rational design of pharmacological compounds that, by tuning AMPAR activity up or down, could improve treatment of these conditions. Read More

The APOE gene, the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, may play a more prominent role in disease development among women than men, according to new research from the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center. Read More