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The Multimodal Imaging of Neurodegenerative Disease (MIND) Unit uses multimodal neuroimaging, high-throughput proteomic, and genetic approaches to understand how peripheral immune function, infection, and neuroinflammation influence the development and progression of the brain changes underlying Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. In addition to our investigative efforts, the MIND Unit is committed to achieving several key objectives. These include (i) the identification of novel biomarkers crucial for early detection and accurate diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease, (ii) the development of robust proteomic risk assessment tools for disease of the brain, and (iii) the identification and prioritization of promising therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Research areas
Alzheimer’s disease; cognitive decline; dementia; neurodegeneration; neuroimaging biomarkers; immune function; infection; neuroinflammation; proteomics and genetics of Alzheimer’s disease.
Findings and Publications
Duggan, MR, Peng, Z., Sipila, PN, Lindbohm, J. V., Davatzikos, C., Erus, G., Hohman, T. J., Andrews, S. J., Candia, J., Tanaka, T., Joynes, C. M., Alvarado, C. X., Nalls, M. A., Cordon, J., Daya, G. N., An, Y., Lewis, A., Moghekar, A., Ferrucci, L., Kivimaki, M., Walker, K. A. (2024). Proteomics identifies immunological drivers of post-infection brain atrophy and cognitive decline. Nature Aging. (Accepted)
Dark HE, Paterson C, Daya GN, Peng Z, Duggan MR, Bilgel M, An Y, Moghekar A, Davatzikos C, Resnick SM, Loupy K, Simpson M, Candia J, Mosley T, Coresh J, Palta P, Ferrucci L, Shapiro A, Williams SA, Walker KA. Proteomic indicators of health predict Alzheimer’s disease biomarker levels and dementia risk. Annals of Neurology, 95(2):260-273. Doi: 10.1002/ana.26817 PMCID: PMC10842994
Cordon J, Duggan MR, Gomez GT, Pucha KA, Peng Z, Dark HE, Davatzikos C, Erus G, Lewis A, Moghekar A, Candia J, Ferrucci L, Kapogiannis D, Walker KA. Identification of clinically relevant brain endothelial biomarkers in plasma. Stroke, 54(11):2853-2863. Doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.123.043908 PMCID: PMC10608795*Authors contributed equally.
Walker KA, Chen J, Shi L, Yang Y, Fornage M, Zhou L, Schlosser P, Surapaneni A, Grams ME, Duggan MR, Peng Z, Gomez GT, Tin A, Hoogeveen RC, Sullivan KJ, Ganz P, Lindbohm JV, Kivimaki M, Nevado-Holgado AJ, Buckley N, Gottesman RF, Mosley TH, Boerwinkle E, Ballantyne CM, Coresh J. Proteomics analysis of plasma from middle-aged adults identifies protein markers of dementia risk in later life. Science Translational Medicine, 15(705):eadf5681. Doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adf5681 PMCID: PMC10665113
Duggan MR, Butler L, Peng Z, Daya GN, Moghekar A, An Y, Rapp SR, Hayden KM, Shadyab AH, Natale G, Liu L, Snetselaar L, Moaddel R, Rebholz CM, Sullivan K, Ballantyne CM, Resnick SM, Ferrucci L, Walker KA. Plasma proteins related to inflammatory diet predict future cognitive impairment. Molecular Psychiatry. 28(4):1599-1609. Doi: 10.1038/s41380-023-01975-7. PMCID: PMC10208977
Walker KA, Chen J, Zhang J, Fornage M, Yang Y, Zhou L, Grams ME, Tin A, Daya N, Hoogeveen RC, Wu A, Sullivan KJ, Ganz P, Zeger SL, Gudmundsson EF, Emilsson V, Launer LJ, Jennings LL, Gudnason V, Chatterjee N, Gottesman RF, Mosley TH, Boerwinkle E, Ballantyne CM, Coresh J. Large-scale plasma proteomic analysis identifies proteins and pathways associated with dementia risk. Nature Aging, 1(5):473-489. Doi: 10.1038/s43587-021-00064-0 PMCID: PMC10154040