Molecular imaging of Alzheimer's disease

Franz F. Hefti, Chief Scientific Officer of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals. Alzheimer's disease is a major public health crisis, with more than 5 million Americans afflicted today. In the future, it may be possible to diagnose Alzheimer's disease years before symptoms arise, by imaging the brain pathology that causes the disease.

Dr. Hefti has 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry (Rinat Neuroscience Corp., Merck & Co., and Genentech) and spent a decade as a professor in academia (University of Southern California and University of Miami). He has published over 250 papers on neurotrophic factors and topics in neuropharmacology and a textbook "Drug Discovery for Nervous System Diseases", Wiley (2004). Dr. Hefti received a Ph.D. from the University of Zürich and did his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Max Planck Institute in Munich.

The luncheon is at 12:00 noon on Friday, March 26, 2010, in the Lenape Room of the University Club.