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Mission
The mission of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research (CNDR) is to promote and conduct multidisciplinary clinical and basic research to increase the understanding of the causes and mechanisms leading to brain dysfunction and degeneration in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Lewy body dementia (LBD), Frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), Motor neuron disease (MND), and related disorders that occur increasingly with advancing age. Implicit in the mission of the CNDR are two overarching goals: 1.) Find better ways to cure and treat these disorders, 2. Provide training to the next generation of scientists.
“My goal for CNDR is not only to collaborate with researchers at Penn and from institutions across the globe with the mutual goal of finding better ways to diagnose and treat neurodegenerative diseases, but also to inspire and encourage the next generation of scientists on the importance of investigating these disorders that occur more frequently with advancing age.” – Virginia M.-Y. Lee, PhD, Director, CNDR
John Q. Trojanowski, MD, PhD | 1946 - 2022
In loving memory of John Q. Trojanowski, MD, PhD
Latest Research
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Misdirected yet intact TREX1 exonuclease activity causes human cerebral and systemic small vessel disease
Friday, June 6, 2025
Retinal vasculopathy with cerebral leukoencephalopathy and systemic manifestations (RVCL-S) is an incurable microvascular disease caused by C-terminus truncation of the TREX1 exonuclease. There is a pressing need to understand disease mechanisms and identify therapeutic targets. We evaluated TREX1 sequencing data from 469 229 UK Biobank participants together with RVCL-S-related microvascular clinical and imaging outcomes. We show that mono-allelic truncating mutations in TREX1 require intact...
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Assessing the Global Impact of Brain Small Vessel Disease on Cognition: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
INTRODUCTION: We aimed to examine the global impact of brain small vessel disease (SVD) on cognitive performance.
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Administrators in Chinese Faith-Based Nursing Homes Providing Dementia Care: Ascertaining Their Primary Stressors and Coping Strategies
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
The Chinese population of older adults is the largest in the world and growing rapidly. Faith-based nursing homes are key players in the provision of care to the most vulnerable aging groups, including adults with dementia. Yet, little is known about the challenges administrators of these facilities encounter. The present study addresses this knowledge gap by identifying the primary stressors administrators of faith-based nursing home experience and the strategies they deploy to cope with the...