When nerve cells in the central or peripheral nervous systems lose function and ultimately die, the neurodegenerative diseases that result take a huge toll on the persons they afflict and on society at large. A major mission of our department is to conduct neuroscience research with a focus on dissecting the neuropathology of acute, chronic, immune, and progressive degenerative diseases of the nervous system. In our department, we are using sophisticated molecular and genetic techniques to actively investigate pathways that initiate and may be used to prevent conditions like ischemia, Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinson’s disease, spinal muscular atrophy, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. From studies involving T cell-mediated immunity in diseases like multiple sclerosis, to studies delving into how innate immune cells contribute to neuropathology in stroke, leukodystrophy, or Alzheimer’s disease, our faculty are interrogating various molecular and cellular pathways as future treatment strategies to delay, attenuate, and possibly prevent neurological diseases.

Faculty: Yan, Bargagna-Mohan, Crocker, Guzzo, Ishii, Hu, Imitola, Mohan, Traktenberg, Verma, Xiong