The "Training for the Multiscale and Multimodal Analysis of Biomarkers in Alzheimer’s Disease" is a postdoctoral program at USC designed to prepare researchers for independent careers in Alzheimer’s biomarker research. The program offers comprehensive training in molecular, cellular, imaging, informatics, and population-based methods, drawing on USC’s expertise across 12 schools and centers. Through coursework, lab rotations, and professional development activities, trainees will gain the skills necessary for cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research in Alzheimer’s disease.
Lecturer
Ioannis Pappas, PhD, Assistant Professor of Research Neurology at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute. Dr. Pappas received his PhD from Cambridge University in the UK, followed by post-doctoral training in stroke research at UC-Berkley.
Learn from Lecture #1
How MRIs, PET scans and computerized neuroimaging has and is moving the field of dementia research forward. See how your participation is one more scan, one more test that will get us closer to treatments and cures.
Lecturer
Lon Schneider, MD, MS, The Della Martin Endowed Professor Psychiatry, Neurology and Gerontology at USC. He directs the USC California Alzheimer's Disease Center, the Geriatric Studies Center, and the Clinical Core of the USC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Dr. Schneider is an international expert on clinical trial design for Alzheimer's disease, including the testing of novel compounds, improving the assessment of outcome, and enhancing the study design of clinical trials.
Learn from the Lecture
Learn what clinical trials are all about. Learn how researchers approach the complexity of preventing Alzheimer's.
Lecturer
Helena Chui, MD, Chair and Professor of Neurology. Dr. Chui is internationally recognized for her research in Alzheimer's disease and vascular cognitive impairment. She is the principal investigator for the NIA-funded Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, as well as a multi-institutional program project on vascular dementia. Dr. Chui is the author of over 120 publications and has served on the editorial board for Stroke, Alzheimer's Disease and Associated Disorders, and Archives of Neurology.
During the past 30 years, her research interests have focused on vascular contributions to cognitive impairment in late life. She has been particularly interested in nonocclusive pathways leading from vascular risk factors to vascular brain injury or Alzheimer's pathology.
Learn from the Lecture
After giving a brief overview of the memory system, Dr. Chui discusses the spectrum of forgetfulness – from normal aging to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia – and an accompanying range of underlying causes. She concludes her talk with a guide for prevention and treatment.
Lecturer
Michael Bienkowski, PHD, Assistant Professor of Physiology and Neuroscience. He directs the USC center for Integrative Connectomics at the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute. Dr. Bienkowski and his team strive to unravel the intricacies of brain circuitry and how it breaks down in Alzheimer's disease and Related Disorders. His research focuses on defining neuronal networks in animals and human beings, based on cellular gene expression and morphology, together with network connectivity and function.
Learn from the Lecture
Learn how USC is studying the 86 billion neurons of our brain structure and working to find ways to protect us against neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Lecturer
Hussein Yassine, M.D, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Neurology. Dr. Yassine received his medical degree from the Beirut Arab University in Lebanon in 2003. He then completed his residency training in endocrinology at the University of Arizona in 2010, before joining USC in 2012.
Lecturer
Maria Aranda, PhD, MSW, MPA, LCSW, Associate Professor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. She is the Executive Director of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging. Dr. Aranda studies the effects of depression and dementia on patients and their caregivers, with a particular focus on the Latinx community.