“As a scientist I am using my brain to understand how our genes can predispose some individuals to develop Alzheimer’s disease. We work with families who by virtue of their genes are at increased risk of developing disease. We are using cutting-edge technologies to sequence genomes from these families to uncover new genetic risk factors that we will lead to novel drugs to treat and prevent disease. In the last couple of years we have turned this model on its head in order to ask why some people, despite being at increased genetic risk do not develop Alzheimer’s Disease. The goal of this research is to exploit these protective or resilience mechanisms that have arisen naturally in certain individuals to design therapeutics that protect people from developing Alzheimer’s disease. We challenge our brains everyday to use creative ways to understand this devastating disease.”
DR. ALISON GOATE
