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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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An MRI-based macro- and microstructural neuroimaging-wide association study of subsequent cognitive impairment
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
INTRODUCTION: This study longitudinally examined 154 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers in cognitively normal (CN) individuals to identify structural brain changes most strongly associated with subsequent cognitive impairment (SI).
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10-year clinical outcomes of subthalamic nucleus versus pallidal deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease: VA/NINDS CSP #468F
Monday, February 2, 2026
CONCLUSION: DBS therapy has a significant beneficial effect on overall motor function, dyskinesia, and motor fluctuations over 10 years (regardless of target), though non-motor symptoms progressed. Bradykinesia, axial, and quality-of-life improvement were maintained at 2 years and then declined over time.
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Selective peroxynitrite-mediated protein nitration catalyzed by glyoxalase domain containing protein 4
Monday, February 2, 2026
Tyrosine nitration alters the structure, function, and cellular localization of proteins and is implicated in the pathology of multiple diseases [G. Ferrer-Sueta et al., Chem. Rev. 118, 1338-1408 (2018), H. Ischiropoulos, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 356, 1-11 (1998), I. Griswold-Prenner et al., J. Biol. Chem. 299, 105038-10554 (2023)]. Although protein nitration is assumed to proceed via nonspecific chemical mechanisms, it is highly selective, suggesting the possibility of enzymatic catalysis. Here,...