Speaker: Robert James Vassar, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
Place: MeetingRoom329, Life School Building
Vassar's ongoing research focuses on the role of Aβ and BACE1 in normal biological processes and in disease mechanisms of relevance to AD. His lab is particularly interested in the functions of BACE1 and the homologue, BACE2, and the cell biology of Aβ in neurons. Cellular and molecular studies of BACE1 and BACE2 knockout mice will be important for elucidating the biological functions of these novel aspartic proteases and identifying their substrates. Finally, the lab is interested in the role of inflammation in AD pathophysiology, novel transgenic and knockout mouse models of AD, and molecular changes that may occur during brain aging leading to neurodegeneration.