Over the past few years, there has been a remarkable and expanding consensus that many—if not all—neurodegenerative diseases are caused by the accumulation of prions. Our cohesive, interactive research group is focused in discovering the causes of and cures for neurodegenerative diseases.
Guided by the principle that specific proteins undergo changes to form self-propagating prions, we study how prions form, how prions accumulate, and how prions cause disease. In tandem, we investigate whether we can stop prions from forming, prevent prions from accumulating, and/or help the brain rid itself of disease-causing prions.
We aim to find a cure for these devastating brain diseases.
There are currently three times the number of new Alzheimer’s disease cases compared to HIV/AIDS — that is one new case every four seconds.
The current costs of dementia are staggering. The global cost of Alzheimer’s disease in 2010 was $604 billion, or 1% of the global gross domestic product.