CDR: The Degenerative Disease Modeling Laboratory
Director: Karen Duff, Ph.D.

The Degenerative Disease Modeling Laboratory studies the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and creates laboratory models that are used in the development and evaluation of diagnostic tools and treatments. Under the direction of Karen Duff, PhD, researchers at the laboratory have created several models that develop amyloid plaques in the brain to replicate the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. Using these models, they now aim to prevent or reverse the disease process and are testing several therapeutic approaches, including cholesterol lowering drugs and the development of novel drugs that remove amyloid precursors from the blood. These models are also being used to develop diagnostic imaging procedures, especially MRI, in collaboration with other research laboratories at the Institute.

Other models developed at the Degenerative Disease Modeling Laboratory include tau models that overexpress human tau transgenes and develop neurofibrillary tangles. Tau tangles are one of the hallmark features of Alzheimer's disease, and disease-causing mutations associated with frontal temporal lobe dementia (FTD) have been identified in tau. Researchers at the laboratory are exploring the evolution of tangles, the role of cholesterol in tangle formation, signal transduction pathways involved between amyloid and tau tangle formation, the role of phosphorylation in tau pathogenesis and pharmacological strategies to prevent tangle formation. Models created at the laboratory are not only created for use at the Institute but are currently being used by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to test treatments for Alzheimer's disease.