Program Faculty
Each member of our faculty is a highly successful researcher as evidenced by NIH funding and excellent record of peer-reviewed publications. All are senior faculty with academic appointments of Associate or Full Professor, and all have demonstrated dedication to and success in post-graduate training. In addition, many of our faculty have a strong history of interdisciplinary collaboration with one another. It is typical for a trainee to be co-mentored by an MD and PhD investigator, or two investigators from different disciplines.
The following is a description of the research accomplishments and training participation of each faculty member.
SUZANNE CRAFT, PhD, Training Grant Director
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
University of Washington School of Medicine
Associate Director, Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center
VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS)
Dr. Suzanne Craft’s research focuses on the role of neuroendocrine abnormalities in the development and expression of Alzheimer’s disease. She is recognized as a leading authority on the role of insulin metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease and aging. Work from her laboratory has revealed that insulin (a glucoregulatory hormone) plays a role in normal memory processing and that defects in insulin metabolism characterize a large proportion of patients with AD. Her work has expanded to examine the role of insulin in the pathophysiology of AD. For example, she has demonstrated that insulin affects cerebrospinal fluid levels of beta amyloid (a protein strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of AD) in vivo in humans. Dr. Craft’s work also explores novel therapeutic approaches to the treatment of memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease, including the use of insulin-sensitizing compounds and intranasally administered insulin. The results formed as the basis both for an ongoing Phase III trial and for a successful NIH R01 research award to examine the therapeutic effects of insulin sensitizing agents in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is widely believed to be a prodromal phase of AD. Her research program also examines factors involved in insulin’s modulation of beta amyloid and inflammation in a variety of human, non-human primate, and rodent models. In general, Dr. Craft’s work embodies the translational research approach that is the goal of the training program.
MURRAY RASKIND, MD, Training Grant Co-Director
Department:
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Murray Raskind, M.D., has been a leading investigator in the study of the neuroendocrinology of AD for 30 years. Dr. Raskind is Professor and Vice-Chair of Research Development in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Director of the ADRC at the University of Washington. He also serves as Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health Services at the VAPSHCS. He has served on the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of the National Alzheimer’s Association since 1989, and is currently on the Board’s executive committee.
Dr. Raskind’s work addresses neuroendocrine contributions to the pathophysiology and psychopathology of AD and normal aging. His research program combines both clinical research in human subjects using pharmacologic and physiologic challenge strategies, and basic research in mammalian brain tissue at the receptor and gene expression level. Dr. Raskind’s laboratory has demonstrated enhanced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responsiveness at a suprapituituary level in both normal aging and AD, and has provided evidence supporting decreased HPA axis sensitivity to glucocorticoid feedback inhibition as one mechanism underlying this potentially deleterious phenomenon. His NIA RO1 and VA Merit Review grants support studies further defining mechanisms of aging and AD-associated increased HPA axis responsiveness. These studies also investigate psychopharmacologic and endocrine approaches to modulating HPA axis activity. Dr. Raskind has taken a leadership role in clinical pharmacologic studies of drugs with potential therapeutic effects in cognition and behavioral problems in AD.
THOMAS BIRD, MD
Department: Neurology
Dr. Bird is an internationally recognized authority and pioneer in neurogenetic research related to AD and other neurodegenerative disorders. The research team of Drs. Bird, Schellenberg, and Wijsman has made groundbreaking contributions to the understanding of familial AD (FAD). This has included the assignment of one form of early onset FAD to chromosome 14 and the presenilin-1 gene, and the cloning of the presenilin-2 gene. Dr. Bird identified and characterized the Volga German pedigrees that provided critical material for discovery of the presenilin-2 gene. These findings have initiated completely novel research directions for the understanding dementing illnesses.
Dr. Bird is Head of the Neurogenetics Division, Professor of Neurology, Joint Professor of Medicine (Medical Genetics) and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry. He received the 1992 Wartenberg Award for clinical research from the American Academy of Neurology and shared the 1995 Metropolitan Life Foundation Award for research in Alzheimer's disease with Drs. Schellenberg and Wijsman. In 2001, he received the Jacoby Prize from the American Neurological Association for excellence in clinical research.
JOHN C. S. BREITNER, MD, MPH
Department: Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Breitner is the principal investigator on a number of NIH-sponsored grants that focus on epidemiology and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. The University of Washington is currently a site for Dr. Breitner's long-term multi-site randomized control trial of two NSAIDS, naproxen sodium and celecoxib for the reduction of incidence of Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline. Dr. Breitner is also the founder of the Cache County, UT longitudinal study of the prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer's disease in relation to a variety of genetic and environmental risk factors, including APOE genotype and pharmacological exposures. In addition, he founded a study examining the genetic epidemiology of Alzheimer's disease in elderly twins.
Dr. Breitner joined the University of Washington faculty in 2002 as Professor and Head, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Director, Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) at the VA PSHCS. He is the former Chair of the Department of Mental Hygiene at Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. He is currently a member of the World Alzheimer Congress Program Committee.
ERIC LARSON, MD, MPH
Department: Medicine
Dr. Larson was instrumental in establishing the Geriatrics and Family Services Clinic at the University of Washington, and with his colleagues characterized the presentation of dementia in elderly outpatients and the highlighted the significance of co-morbid conditions. The group's research described the importance of co-existing dementia and depression, adverse drug reactions causing or exacerbating dementia, the low yield of CT scanning, the importance of sensory impairments in exacerbating cognitive function, and the increased morbidity of falls and fractures in patients with AD. Over the past ten years, Dr. Larson has shifted his research focus to community based populations in order to describe the epidemiology of AD, caregiving patterns, and the use of long-term care across various cultures. The University of Washington group is developing intervention strategies in primary care settings in Seattle with the goal of minimizing excess disability and maintaining function as long as possible in AD patients. New projects that will be underway during the traineeship include studies of presbycusis and its relationship to Alzheimer's disease, the identification of new markers for PET imaging to better characterize prodromal dementia changes, and the development of strategies to promote functional independence in both normal and abnormal aging.
Dr. Larson is Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health Services and Community Medicine. He also serves as Director of the Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative. Former positions include Medical Director, UW Medical Center and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs. He is also a former president of the Society for General Internal Medicine (1994), chaired the OTA DHHS Advisory Panel on Alzheimer's disease (1993), and served as commissioner on the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Health Care organizations (1999).
RENEE C. LEBOEUF, PhD
Department: Department of Psychosocial & Community Health
Dr. LeBoeuf's long-term research goal is to identify molecular mechanisms contributing to AD, with a particular focus on the role of lipid metabolism. Dr. LeBoeuf and colleagues hypothesize that pathways involved in cholesterol homeostasis in neurons may modulate the production and/or clearance of the amyloid beta (Aß) peptide, and that peripheral lipoproteins may influence cholesterol homeostasis in neurons. These ideas are explored in mouse systems and in cultured neuronal cell lines. Recently, Dr. LeBoeuf and her colleagues tested the hypothesis that hypercholesterolemia modulates Aß deposition in mice over expressing the human APP695 Swedish mutation (K670N and M67IL) (TgAPPsw) (Sie et al., 2002, NeuroReport 13:455-459), and found that feeding mice a high fat/high cholesterol (HFHC) diet for 7-10 months increased total cholesterol levels by 4-fold. The extent of Aß immunostained plaque-like deposits were significantly higher for mice fed the HFHC diet as compared with mice fed rodent chow, and were correlated inversely with plasma levels of HDL and directly with apolipoprotein E. These results suggest that plasma lipoproteins may be an important factor in the induction of AD-like plaques in mice. Other research projects involve the generation of TgAPPsw mice with hyperlipidemia due to loss of the LDL receptor in order to verify by means other than diet that increased circulating lipid levels contribute to plaque formation in the brain. In addition, a current research focus is the role of ABCA1, the rate limiting membrane transporter for cellular cholesterol efflux.
Dr. LeBoeuf is a Professor in the Dept. of Pathobiology, an Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Core Faculty of the Nutritional Sciences Program, and head of the Nutrient-Gene Subcore of the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit (NIH/NIDDK P30 DK35816).
JAMES LEVERENZ, MD
Department: Neurology
Dr. Leverenz's research addresses the molecular neuropathology of AD and related disorders. Projects have included the influence of central nervous system noradrenergic systems on cognitive and behavioral changes in aging and AD, glucocorticoid neurotoxicity in hippocampal neurons in the primate brain, and clinical and neuropathologic studies of behavior and cognitive changes of aging in Down's syndrome. More recently, Dr. Leverenz's work has focused on the neurological correlates and brain pathology associated with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). He is currently examining the frequency and characteristics of Parkinson's disease related neuropathology in demented and non-demented subjects. This area of focus directly relates to the goals of this training grant by focusing on both molecular and behavioral manifestations of dementing illnesses.
Dr. Leverenz is Associate Professor in the Departments of Neurology, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. In 1993, he received a five-year Geriatric Academic Training award. He is also the recipient of the 2001 Research Award in Geriatric Neurology from the American Academy of Neurology.
REBECCA LOGSDON, PhD
Department: Psychosocial & Community Health
Dr. Logsdon's research interests lie in the areas of neuropsychological functioning and behavioral assessment and management of Alzheimer's patients. Currently she is co-investigator of a national investigation of treatments for behavioral disturbances in AD, and of a behavioral/educational intervention to reduce disability in frail older adults. Other ongoing research interests include identifying and incorporating pleasant events into the daily routine of patients with AD in community and special care facilities, methodological issues in treatment outcome research with dementia patients and caregivers, and assessing quality of life in AD patients and caregivers. Dr. Logsdon's community perspective in the management of Alzheimer's disease is valuable to the mission of the training grant, which seeks to translate bench science into clinical outcome and treatment.
Dr. Logsdon is Research Associate Professor of Psychosocial & Community Health and holds an adjunct position in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is a former recipient of the National Alzheimer's Association Faculty Scholar Award, and is a Fellow in the Gerontological Society of America.
GEORGE M. MARTIN, MD
Department: Pathology
Dr. Martin's full body of research concentrates on the process of biology, pathology, and chemistry of aging. A program he initiated, the NIH Training Grant, entitled “Genetic Approaches to Aging,” now under the leadership of Peter S. Rabinovitch, is currently in its 24 th year of support. His group evaluates transgenic mice overexpressing genes that have the potential to protect the DNA of aging mammalian cells from oxidative damage, to enhance life span, and to retard age-related disorders. As part of the National Long-term Care Survey, the laboratory isolates DNA from 1,500 persons plus DNA and mononuclear cells from an additional 2,000 persons. They then genotype APOE and WRN polymorphisms, bank blood cells, pilot haplotype determinations from a subset of these individuals, and link the data back to Duke University where correlation of genotype to health and cognition status is made. Other projects related to Alzheimer's disease include Genetic Instability and Knockout Mice, in which his laboratory creates and evaluates transgenic mouse models of Werner Syndrome, the kinetics of replication of T. brucei in the blood stream of experimentally infected transgenic mice engineered to express either the human APOE 2, 3, or 4 alleles at the sites of their endogenous APOE loci, and a study of the modulation of expression of FE65 (a facilitator of beta amyloidogenesis), in which the expression of FE65 is correlated with levels of AD pathology and cognitive function.
Dr. Martin has been Attending Pathologist since 1959, Professor of Pathology since 1968, and Adjunct Professor of Genetics since 1975. He went to Emeritus status in Pathology and Genome Sciences on January 1, 2003. Dr. Martin served as the first director of the university of Washington ADRC from 1985-1999, and he founded and directed the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Washington 1970-1973. In 1992 he was elected Member, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and since 1993 he has been a Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging.
SUSAN MCCURRY, PhD
Department: Department of Psychosocial & Community Health
Dr. McCurry's primary areas of research interest are: a) Development of behavioral interventions to reduce psychiatric and physical disability in AD patients and their caregivers, with a special emphasis on sleep, b) study of cross-cultural and environmental factors affecting rates of cognitive decline, psychiatric symptomatology, and behavior problems in dementia; and c) examination of factors associated with successful aging and maintenance of late-life independence. She is Principal Investigator on an NIMH career development award evaluating the feasibility and efficacy of a behavioral treatment for improving sleep in AD patients. She has been a Co-investigator on a number of randomized, controlled clinical trials studying the efficacy of behavioral interventions for reducing depression, anxiety, agitation, and physical disability in dementia patients, and on several epidemiological studies of aging and dementia in Caucasian and Japanese-American older adults. Dr. McCurry's body of research provides an important adjunct to this training program, as trainees are encouraged to view Alzheimer's disease from a variety of biological and clinical perspectives, including cross-cultural and community viewpoints.
Dr. McCurry is a Research Associate Professor of Psychosocial and Community Health, Adjunct Research Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and an attending psychologist at the Geriatric and Family Services Clinic at the University of Washington Medical Center.
THOMAS MONTINE, MD, PhD
Department: Pathology
Research in this laboratory focuses on mechanisms of disease and therapeutic targets in age-related neurodegeneration. The basic premise is that production of molecules that are injurious to the brain accompanies advancing age and certain diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and AD. Program goals are to understand the means of production and inactivation of endogenous neurotoxins, and in doing so discover new methods for halting or slowing the progression of these neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, Dr. Montine's efforts are focused on two classes of compounds. The first are oxygenated lipids generated to excess in diseased regions of brain in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Past work has shown that some of these lipids potently destabilize the neuronal cytoskeleton and enhance excitotoxic neurodegeneration. The other class of molecules, called catechol thioethers, is produced in diseased regions of brain in patients with Parkinson's disease. These molecules are neurotoxic in experimental models, and current laboratory efforts are attempting to determine their contribution to the progression of Parkinson's disease. Dr. Montine evaluates CSF from human neurodegenerative disease studies, thereby combining both basic science and clinical research.
Dr. Montine joined the University of Washington faculty in 2002 as Alvord Professor of Neuropathology, Professor of Pathology, and Director, Division of Neuropathology. He chaired the Neuropathology Symposium, Experimental Biology (FASEB) in 2003, was selected for the American Geriatrics Society Presidential Poster Session in 2000, and was the recipient of the American Society of Investigational Pathologists in 1996.
ELAINE R. PESKIND, MD
Department: Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Peskind's research addresses stress hormones in aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) as well as treatment for both the cognitive impairment and noncognitive behavioral problems of AD. Her NIA R01 funded project currently is studying the antiadrenergic agents, propranolol and prazosin, for the treatment of disruptive agitation in AD patients in the long-term care setting. In addition, she is evaluating the role of apolipoprotein-E (APOE) genotype in brain exposure to the stress hormone cortisol. Dr. Peskind was recently PI of a National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center funded multi-center study to confirm and extend her preliminary finding that APOE-e4 increases cerebrospinal fluid cortisol in an aging-dependent manner. She is following longitudinally nondemented older persons carrying the e4 allele to determine if those with higher CSF cortisol concentrations are more likely to develop cognitive decline and AD. Because excess cortisol may lower the threshold for neuronal damage and degeneration, establishing that brain cortisol exposure is determined by APOE genotype may suggest a potentially alterable mechanism by which the APOE-e4 allele exerts its deleterious effects.
Dr. Peskind is Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, with special interests in neuroendocrinology of aging and AD and posttraumatic stress disorder. She is Associate Director of the UW Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and Associate Director of the VA Northwest Network Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, as well as Director of Clinical Research, Mental Health Service at VA Puget Sound Health Care System. At the national level, Dr. Peskind is an elected member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. She served on the NIA Neuroscience of Aging Review Committee from 1997 to 2001. She has been active in the career development of Geriatric Psychiatry and Geriatric Medicine fellows and junior faculty since 1991.
GERARD D. SCHELLENBERG, PhD
Department: Medicine
Dr. Schellenberg is an internationally known neurogeneticist whose work focuses on AD and other pathological conditions of aging. In collaboration with Drs. Thomas Bird and Ellen Wijsman, Dr. Schellenberg's laboratory used linkage analysis to identify the chromosome 14 and chromosome 1 early-onset AD loci. These findings represented groundbreaking milestones in the study of familial AD, for which Dr. Schellenberg was awarded the Potamkin Prize for research in Alzheimer's Disease, and for which he shared the 1995 Metropolitan Life Foundation Award for research in Alzheimer's disease. He continues to focus on identifying additional AD loci, using linkage analysis. Additionally, the chromosome 1 and 14 genes and presenilin-1 and -2 genes are being characterized in terms of their genomic structure and protein products. Frontotemporal Dementia with Parkinsonis—Chromosome 17 type (FTDP-17) is an autosomal dominant disorder that was mapped by linkage analysis to 17q21-22. Tau was known to be in the general region of this linkage. Initial DNA sequence analysis of tau by other groups failed to identify mutations. Dr. Schellenberg and colleagues sequenced the coding regions and 50-100 bp of flanking intronic sequence is samples from affected subjects in a Seattle family study group. The mutation M 337 V that co-segregated with the disease was not present in a large number of controls. This was the first tau mutation identified. To date, over 22 different FTDP-17 mutations have been described, including mis-sense mutations that alter the biochemical properties of tau. Dr. Schellenberg and his laboratory are in the process of identifying the trans-acting proteins that interact with tau-regulatory elements, and are attempting to model FTDP-17 in mice and in C. elegans . In mice, they have inserted both normal and FTDP-17 mutant tau into transgenic animals. Their goal during the next training time period is to continue to generate different transgenic animals to reproduce an animal model of tau-related neurodegenerative disease. In addition, they are pursuing cloning of a late-onset AD (LOAD) gene on chromosome 19p. They are also using genetic linkage analysis to identify chromosomal regions containing genes for LOAD and genes that modify onset age in presenilin 2 (PS2) mutation families.
Dr. Schellenberg is Research Professor, Medicine (Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine), Neurology, and Pharmacology, and Associate Director for Research, Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Seattle. He served on the Neurosciences 3 / BrainDisorders and Clinical Neurosciences-3 Study Section, 1996-2000, and currently participates on the National Advisory Council for Genome Research.
LINDA TERI, PhD
Department: Psychosocial & Community Health
Dr. Teri is currently a co-investigator of the University of Washington ADRC and the Alzheimer's Disease Patient Registry and principal investigator on several federally-funded grants, including a multi-center study designed to improve patient satisfaction with care, improve staff perception of skills and job satisfaction through an on-site training program focused on management of resident behavior problems in an assisted-living setting. A second study that Dr. Teri is conducting examines the effects of mild exercise and improved problem solving skills among elders. This study focuses on whether a behavioral program reduces the functional disability inherent in patients with AD compared to a health maintenance organization usual care group. This ongoing program, intended to reduce physical disability by improving patient mobility, maintaining adequate nutrition, decreasing adverse drug reactions, and decreasing falls and fractures; to decrease patient behavior problems by training caregivers in behavioral problem-solving strategies; and to decrease caregiver burden through effective use of community resources, has shown promising results. Another major area of research is the epidemiological investigation and longitudinal study of patients with AD and normal-age-matched controls (E. Larson, PI; L. Teri, Co-PI). In particular, current studies are addressing whether apolipoprotein E genotype is related to the clinical symptomatology and neuropathologic progression of AD. As part of the Alzheimer's Disease Patient Registry and the ACT (Adult Changes in Thought) Cohort, over 4200 older adults have been followed via a series of cognitive, behavioral, physical and neuroendocrine measures designed to assess their functioning over time. 2,500 of these adults are “normal”, whereas 1,700 of these older adults have been evaluated and determined to have AD or a related dementia. Recent studies have investigated the association of cognitive and behavioral decline in AD and the phenomenology of associated medical and psychiatric comorbidities in this group.
Dr. Teri is Professor of Psychosocial and Community Health in the University of Washington School of Nursing, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Founding Director of the deTornyay Center on Healthy Aging, Senior Researcher of the NW Research Group on Aging (which she established June 2001) and past Director and Chief Psychologist of the Geriatric and Family Services Clinic at the University of Washington Medical Center.
GERALD VAN BELLE, PhD
Department: Environmental Health Administration
Dr. van Belle has particular expertise is in the areas of biostatistics, epidemiology, data base management, and collaborative studies. He is interested in the identification, measurement, modeling, and analysis of environmental risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly AD. This work frequently involves epidemiological approaches such as case-control studies. He has collaborated extensively with statistical geneticists, epidemiologists, and clinicians. AD risk factors that have been identified include smoking, exposures to solvents and family history. A second area of interest involves the uses of neuropsychological test batteries. Dr. van Belle has been particularly interested in the amount of information in a battery of neuropsychological tests and the implications for testing of patients. A second, related problem deals with estimating the reliability of change in neuropsychological test scores. Often such tests are bounded (such as the Mini-Mental Status Examination) or truncated due to the inability of a subject to complete the test. In all of these cases the usual theory of reliability does not apply and new measures and characteristics of such measures need to be studied. A third area is clinical trial methodology. While still in its infancy, clinical trials of “treatments” for AD are much more difficult than treatments for cancer, for example. The endpoints are much more variable and the course of the disease is typically much slower. These conditions point to clinical trials of long duration, with the subsequent problem of dropouts and other sources of incomplete information (such as proxy reporting).
Dr. van Belle is Professor of Environmental Health and Biostatistics, and Chairman of the Department of Biostatistics. He is the Director of the Biostatistics, Statistical Genetics and Epidemiology Core of the University of Washington Alzheimer Disease Research Center. He is the Associate Director of the National Alzheimer Coordinating Center located at the University of Washington which coordinates collaborative research among Alzheimer Disease Centers funded by the National Institute on Aging. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Center for Statistics in the Social Sciences in the Department of Statistics. Dr. van Belle is a member of the Health Effects (Cambridge) Research Committee, board member of the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (Houston) and serves on many external advisory committees of research centers.
CHARLES WILKINSON, PhD
Department: Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Wilkinson has been actively conducting research on the physiology of stress responses and the HPA axis for 25 years. His research is particularly concerned with the function of stress-related neuroendocrine systems including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, the sympathetic nervous system, and catecholaminergic and corticotropin-releasing factor systems in the brain. He is currently following up on his findings that glucocorticoid feedback inhibition is impaired in the elderly, by investigating the mechanisms of that impairment and the involvement of each of the glucocorticoid receptors in the mediation of age-related functional changes. He is also investigating glucocorticoid and catecholamine effects on learning and memory, especially in the context of aging and Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Wilkinson is Research Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and a Research Physiologist at the VA PSHCS. He is currently on the VA Merit Review Board for Mental Health and Behavioral Science and recently served on the editorial board of the American Journal of Physiology.
ELLEN M. WIJSMAN, PhD
Department: Medicine
Dr. Wijsman's research involves genomic data at various levels of resolution to track inherited variability in pedigrees, generally with the goal of identifying genes of medical importance in humans, and specifically with a focus on neurodegenerative and other diseases of aging. Her group defines efficient study designs and develops efficient algorithms to carry out statistical analyses. The group develops and applies quantitative methods, including gene mapping, modeling modes of inheritance, and identifying regions of identity-by-descent through linkage disequilibrium analysis. She is a key investigator on several projects related to identification of genetic contributors to Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, and she was a key investigator in the identification of the Werner's syndrome gene. Disorders under investigation currently include Alzheimer's disease, the ALS/Parkinson syndrome of Guam, cardiovascular disease, dyslexia, autism, and schizophrenia. Late onset diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease, and phenotypes associated with aging typically are described as complex traits. The Wijsman group is also working on the development and evaluation of Monte Carlo Markov chain methods of analysis in situations where current methods are computationally impractical, such as the search for the basis of complex traits.
Dr. Wijsman is Research Professor, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine, and Department of Biostatistics; and Adjunct Research Professor, Department of Genome Sciences. Since 1999 she has served on the CIDR access review panel, and since 1995 she has served on the NHLBI Mammalian genotyping review panel. Since 1995 she has also served on the Observational Safety and Monitoring Board for the NIH NHLBI collaborative project on the Genetic determinants of high blood pressure.