Jan L. Breslow
Jules Hirsch
Bruce S. McEwen
Torsten N. Wiesel

Adjunct Member
Samuel Gandy

The center serves as the nexus for Alzheimer's disease research at Rockefeller. When the facilities for this new center are completed, it will include state-of-the-art technologies to expand and accelerate Alzheimer's research and will advance the patient-oriented studies of physician-scientists at The Rockefeller University Hospital.

The center's investigations will build on Alzheimer's studies conducted by Vincent Astor Professor Paul Greengard, Ph.D., the center director. Much of his laboratory's research focuses on how the cells of the brain process the amyloid precursor protein (APP), a phosphoprotein implicated in the onset of Alzheimer's disease. During normal brain cell metabolism, APP is processed into smaller pieces. At least two different ways exist for APP processing. One produces protein fragments that are safely secreted from the cell. The other leads to the production of the protein b-amyloid, a major component of the brain plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The Greengard laboratory has provided much of the current understanding of how faulty regulation of APP processing may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's.

Another center member, Frederick Henry Leonhardt Professor Jan L. Breslow, M.D., head of the Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics and Metabolism, discovered the gene for apolipoprotein E, a key protein in cholesterol metabolism recently identified as a risk factor for Alzheimer's.

The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation supports the center, along with a matching gift from the university's fund for new initiatives provided by David Rockefeller.