System-wide Biology of Aging and Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that devastates millions of aged persons. By 2050, ~15 million persons will suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. There is currently no way to cure, delay, or prevent this disease. Many advances have been made that give us valuable insight about the role of the central nervous system in Alzheimer’s disease. We believe that bodily systems outside of the central nervous system contribute significantly to aging and disease pathogenesis and in fact could be initiators of Alzheimer’s and other age-related diseases. We are using proteomics and other ‘omics analyses of animal models and human tissues of Alzheimer’s disease subjects to understand system-wide biology of disease (e.g., brain and peripheral organs such as liver, heart, kidney, and plasma).