Center for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research

The Center for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases was established to promote interdisciplinary and cross-institutional collaborations, with a special emphasis on precision diagnosis and personalized therapies. Baylor College of Medicine already has a long track record of major contributions to our understanding of Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative disorders. In particular, CAND faculty have research interests and expertise in Disease Models and Functional Genomics; Computational Biology and Target Discovery; Neuroinflammation and Glial Biology; Lipids and Metabolism; Synapses and Circuits; and Genomic Medicine.

The BCM Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center and the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic in the Department of Neurology are key hubs for pertinent clinical research. Outstanding basic and translational research programs benefit from contributions of many other BCM departments and centers, including the Human Genome Sequencing Center, Huffington Center on Aging, the Center for Medical Ethics & Health Policy, and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, which is a joint initiative with Texas Children’s Hospital.

Our impact is further extended through BCM affiliates, such as the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Administration Medical Center and through collaborations with other partners in the Texas Medical Center, which is the largest medical center in the world. CAND facilitates collaboration between clinicians and scientists and across many disciplines, fostering successful translational or “bench-to-bedside” research. Thus, progress in revealing neurodegenerative disease mechanisms in the laboratory can be rapidly deployed to benefit our patients.