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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 vision for CNDR is to create a world with effective interventions to prevent and cure aging-related neurodegenerative diseases.” – Eddie Lee, MD, PhD, Director of CNDR
John Q. Trojanowski, MD, PhD | 1946 - 2022
In loving memory of John Q. Trojanowski, MD, PhD
Latest Research
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Automated Imaging Differentiation for Dementia: Including Alzheimer Disease Dementia and Dementia with Lewy Bodies
Monday, May 25, 2026
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Differentiation of Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) remains a challenge. Free-water imaging has been investigated in neurodegenerative diseases and was found to be associated with neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. This retrospective cohort study tested whether Automated Imaging Differentiation for Dementia (AIDD), combining diffusion free-water imaging (FWI) and support vector machine, predicts ADD vs DLB with high accuracy.
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Neocortical tau burden determines the degree of cognitive impairment in individuals with Braak stage V neurofibrillary degeneration
Monday, May 25, 2026
Alzheimer disease neuropathologic change (ADNC) is considered to be the most common cause of cognitive decline and dementia worldwide. ADNC level is determined using the density of neuritic plaques in combination with the topographical distribution of β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau)-positive neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). While cognitive decline correlates with the level of ADNC, there remains a great deal of variation in cognitive outcomes between individuals that is...
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Developmental trajectory of individuals with Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD)
Saturday, May 23, 2026
CONCLUSIONS: PMD impairs skill acquisition, with gross motor milestones impacted more than expressive communication. Stridor and lack of head control by 12 months were associated with poor developmental outcomes and disease progression. These insights will support better characterization of disease course for newly diagnosed families, as well as future trial development.