LA FERLA LAB
The goal of my lab is to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s diseaseALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.*
5.7 MILLION
Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. This number is prediced to rise to nearly 14 million by 2050.*
EVERY 65 SECONDS
A new person develops the disease, with 1 in 3 seniors becoming affected by Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia in their lifetime.*
*Alzheimer’s Association. 2018 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Alzheimer’s Dement 2018;14(3):367-429.
Welcome to the LaFerla Lab
The human brain is the most complex structure in the universe. My lab seeks to understand the processes that cause the brain to stop remembering, such as what occurs in people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
Goal
Researching ways to make our memories last a lifetime.
Innovation
The LaFerla lab has developed several new and exciting transgenic models that will enable scientists world-wide to advance our understanding of Alzheimer’s etiology.
Research
Research from the LaFerla lab has led to several breakthroughs in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease, including new insights into the interactions between amyloid-ß (Aß) plaques and tau-laden neurofibrillary tangles.
Frank M. LaFerla, PhD
Frank M. LaFerla, Ph.D., is the dean of the UCI School of Biological Sciences and a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. He joined UCI in 1995 as an assistant professor and later served as chair of Neurobiology and Behavior from 2010 to 2013 and the director of the UCI Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND) from 2009 – 2018.
Dean LaFerla is the current director of the National Institutes of Health funded UCI Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the co-director of the National Institute on Aging funded Model-AD at UCI, a research consortium to develop the next generation of model organisms to evaluate and cure Alzheimer’s disease.
His 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 model organisms he has generated have been distributed to over 150 researchers in more than 20 countries throughout the world. He has published more than 200 original peer-reviewed articles and has been listed among the top 1% cited researchers in his field.
Dean LaFerla has received many honors for his research accomplishments throughout his career, including the Promising Work Award from the Metropolitan Life Foundation for Medical Research, the Ruth Salta Investigator Achievement Award from the American Health Assistance Foundation, the Zenith Fellows Award from the Alzheimer’s Association and the UCI Innovators Award. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an elected member of the American Neurological Association, the American Society for Cell Biology, the International Society for Stem Cell Research and the Society for Neuroscience.
Our lab has 4 Research Points
Amyloid-ß and tau Interactions
Inflammation in Alzheimer's Disease
Inflammation is a fundamental protective response, but if it becomes dysregulated, it can be a major co-factor in the pathogenesis of many chronic human diseases, including Alzheimer’s. The LaFerla lab has made important discoveries as to how the inflammatory processes triggers Alzheimer’s pathogenesis (including Aß and tau) and impairs cognition.
Co-morbities and Alzheimer's Disease Development
The laboratory has a long-standing interest in understanding how co-morbidities influence the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s. Sporadic Alzheimer’s patients typically display 2 to 8 different comorbid conditions, and it is possible that these concomitant medical conditions influence the progression of AD. Among the diversity of the different co-morbid conditions, the lab has focused primarily on three: ischemia/stroke, stress and diabetes.
Novel therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer's Disease
With the generation of state-of-the art animal models of Alzheimer’s, the laboratory has a long track record of pioneering the investigation of novel approaches to preventing and treating the disease. These studies include work with the muscarinic receptor agonist (AF267B), which has progressed into human clinical trials due to work in the lab.