Patrick J. Lao, PhD

Our laboratory uses multimodal neuroimaging to simultaneously investigate amyloid-β plaque and hyperphosphorylated tau tangle pathology, neuroinflammation, cerebrovascular disease, and neurodegeneration to provide critical insight into Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. We study these disease processes in adults with Down syndrome, community dwelling adults in Northern Manhattan, and cognitively impaired adults enrolled in the Columbia Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. By understanding common pathways across groups with varying genetic and environmental risk and clinical phenotypes, we can inform generalizable therapeutic approaches, and by understanding unique pathways to specific groups, we can also inform personalized medicine approaches.