EP 1051B - New Mouse Model Provides 1st Platform to Study Late-Onset Alzheimer's

University of California, Irvine biologists have developed a new genetically engineered mouse model that, unlike its predecessors, is based on the most common form of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The advance holds promise for making new strides against the neurodegenerative disease as cases continue to soar. Their study appears in the journal, Nature Communications.

While over 170 Alzheimer’s mouse models have been in use since the 1990s, those models mimic early-onset AD, also known as “familial AD,” which accounts for less than 5 percent of total AD cases. Until recently, scientists introduced mutations found in familial risk human genes, such as and presenilin 1, into the mouse genome to generate the mouse models. The UCI team decided to take a new approach by developing a mouse model better positioned to analyze the causes of late-onset AD. Also called “sporadic AD,” this new model encompasses the remaining 95 percent of cases.

Professor Frank LaFerla is the study’s co-senior author, the Dean of the UC Irvine School of Biological Sciences, and a Chancellor’s Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior.  He is the Director of the NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Co-Director of the NIH consortium called MODEL-AD. He joins us today to talk about his findings.

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EP 1051B - New Mouse Model Provides 1st Platform to Study Late-Onset Alzheimer's
Featuring:
Frank LaFerla, Ph.D.
Professor Frank LaFerla is the Dean of the UC Irvine School of Biological Sciences and a Chancellor’s Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior.  He is the Director of the NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Co-Director of the NIH consortium called MODEL-AD.  He previously served as the department chair from 2011-2014 and Director of the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND) from 2008-2018.

Professor LaFerla’s research focuses on understanding the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease, the most common form of dementia.  His scholarly work has had a global influence on the field, as some of the models he has generated have been distributed to over 150+ researchers in more than 20 countries throughout the world; he has published over 200 original peer-reviewed articles and has been listed among the top 1% cited researchers in his field.  He has received several honors for his research accomplishments including the Ruth Salta Junior Investigator Achievement Award from the American Health Assistance Foundation, Zenith Fellows Award from the Alzheimer’s Association, Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Research Award, Promising Work Award from the Metropolitan Life Foundation for Medical Research, and was elected as a Fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Neurological Association.