I am currently an MD-PhD (Combined Program) candidate (MS2, PGY2) at the University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston, TX, USA). I also received a B.S. and MPhil in Neuroscience, where I investigated topics related to learning and memory, addiction, and neurodegeneration utilizing cellular, computational, and clinical experimental paradigms. My current research efforts are focused on better understanding the molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis at the synaptic interface. More specifically, I’m interested in mechanisms underlying regional vulnerability/resilience to AD pathology and trans-synaptic spreading of pathological tau protein. I hope to utilize my scientific research training to bridge gaps between medicine and research within the realm of behavioral and brain sciences.

I’ve been focusing on studying neuronal and non-neuronal mechanisms linked to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). In AD, we found Fc gamma receptor IIb (FcγRIIb) from high-throughput screening as a critical neurotoxic receptor for Amyloid-β (Aβ) that is responsible for pathologic spread of pathogenesis of Aβ in AD. We also showed that FcγRIIb links to Aβ-induced tau pathologies by disrupting phosphoinositide metabolism in AD. In PD, we elucidated the molecular mechanisms by which α-synuclein (α-syn) kills neurons in two different ways; non-cell autonomous (non-neuronal) and cell autonomous (neuronal) neurodegeneration. We showed that pathologic α-syn aggregates activates microglia to converts resting astrocytes to neurotoxic reactive astrocytes. We also showed that pathologic α-syn aggregates activates poly [ADP-ribose] (PAR) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) in neurons, in which PAR polymer generated by PARP-1 kills neurons via parthanatos. Moreover, we found the MIF nuclease as the key mediator for α-syn-mediated neurodegeneration and developed the a first-in class MIF nuclease inhibitor, PAANIB-1 that prevents neurodegeneration in multiple models of PD. These studies are providing more insights into understanding the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases including AD and PD, and are providing novel opportunities for therapies aimed at preventing neurodegenerative disorders.

I am an MD-PhD candidate studying neurodegenerative disease using single-cell genomic technologies.

Dr Kane is a geriatric psychiatrist with expertise and interest in the diagnosis and treatment of Lewy body dementia. He was awarded his PhD on this topic in Newcastle University in 2020. He is a clinical lecturer in Queen's University Belfast and is Vice Chair of the ISTAART Lewy Body Dementias Professional Interest Area.

Dr. Kang serves as the Howard T. Karsner Endowed Professor in Pathology in the department of Pathology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine with a joint appointment as a VA investigator at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. His research focuses on the molecular pathways underlying aberrant proteinopathy and neurotoxicity in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Related Dementias (ADRDs), including Frontotemporal dementia (FTD)-Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) spectrum disorders and Lewy body disorders (LBD). The Kang laboratory takes an interdisciplinary approach to answer important questions pertinent to pathological brain aging in ADRDs. These include molecular, biochemical, cell biological, advanced imaging, and animal modeling (mouse & C. elegans) tools, the latter coupled with electrophysiology and behavior. Multiple proteinopathies arise in ADRDs, such as amyloid and tau in AD, TDP-43 or tau in FTD, TDP-43 in ALS, and alpha-synuclein in LBDs. All ADRDs also exhibit mitochondrial dysfunction and autophagy defects. The goal is to gain insights from cutting-edge neuroscience investigations to advance translational and therapeutic strategies to treat or prevent ADRDs.

I have been focused on unraveling the pathogenic molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative disorders. A particular focus of my research is on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), which is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease, but no disease-modifying therapy has not been available yet. My area of research expertise is in molecular and cellular biology, imaging, cell cultures, and genetic approaches in Drosophila and mouse brains. With my colleagues and collaborators, I have sought to identify novel therapeutic target genes and small molecules, which could ameliorate the pathogenesis of AD, and developed in vivo Drosophila models, and performed genetic and pharmacological experiments. Furthermore, I have expanded my research field to mouse genetics to study the physiological role of AD and PD causative genes. In more recent research, I have generated several cell-type specific conditional KO mice and found that important role in neuronal survival of AD or PD causative genes in different cell types during aging. As an enthusiastic neuroscientist, I believe this multidisciplinary research experience is a catalyst to successfully carry out problem-driven research.

Dr. George Kannarkat is a second-year movement disorders fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorders Center and the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Hospital Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Centers. As an MD-PhD clinician-scientist, he is interested in peripheral mechanisms contributing to neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases with a particular focus on the relevance of peripheral alpha-synuclein pathology.

Dr. Kantor's work focused on developing novel approaches for gene therapy of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases (AD and PD). Dr. Kantor has an extensive expertise in viral vectors developed for gene therapy applications. A specific focus of Dr. Kantor's labs at Duke University and in his biotech company, CLAIRIgene, is to develop and improve viral vectors, including but not limited to integrase-deficient lentiviral vectors (IDLVs) and adeno-associated vectors (AAVs) for NDDs modeling and treatment. Dr. Kantor serves as a PI and co-Investigator on numerous academical, and industrials grants, and his research extensively funded by NIH.

Alifiya Kapasi, PhD, is a research neuropathologist with the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology. Areas of research interest include neuropathology of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, cerebrovascular disease, brain aging, and cognition. Kapasi is actively involved in multiple translational research studies that use pathologic measures to advance research in clinical Alzheimer’s dementia and related disorders.

Dr. Kaplan has over 25 years of experience in drug development in the biotechnology industry. She currently serves as Chief Development Officer with ProMIS Neurosciences, a company developing therapies for neurodegenerative disorders. Prior to these appointments, Dr. Kaplan held positions of increasing responsibility at Genzyme Corporation, most recently as a Vice President of Research, in the fields of neuroimmunology, cancer immunotherapy, gene therapy, and autoimmunity. She led the work of the Research Team supporting the approval and launch of Lemtrada and Aubagio for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Prior to joining Genzyme, she was an Associate Immunopathologist at SmithKline Beecham where she established an immunotoxicology program. Her work has resulted in over 70 scientific publications and multiple patents. Dr. Kaplan holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and conducted post-doctoral studies at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

Dimitrios Kapogiannis is Senior Investigator and Chief of the Human Neuroscience Section at the National Institute on Aging (NIA/NIH), and adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins Medicine. He earned a Medical Degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, in 1998 and completed a Neurology Residency training at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals of Harvard University, USA, in 2006. He completed a Fellowship in Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, before joining the NIA. His research program includes basic, translational and clinical studies. He has pioneered the isolation of Extracellular Vesicles enriched for brain cell origin from blood for diagnosis and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological and psychiatric diseases and as outcomes in clinical trials. His clinical research includes studies of metabolic and ketogenic interventions (exenatide, calorie restriction, oral ketone ester) to combat brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease.