Aging and Dementia Research

In collaboration with other institutes and centers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, as well as local, national, and international research partners, we remain dedicated to improving the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Our research involves basic scientific studies of the molecular and genetic basis of neurodegeneration, neuropathological studies, imaging studies of the brain, and observational and clinical trials of approved and experimental drugs and natural supplements.

Areas of Research

• Aging and dementia
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Behavioral, cognitive and emotional effects of neurological disorders
• Biomarkers of risk and progression in Alzheimer's disease
• Brain imaging
• Chronic traumatic encephalopathy
• Corticobasal syndrome
• Corticobasal ganglionic degeneration
• Dementia
• Early onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD)
• Frontotemporal dementia
• Frontotemporal lobar degeneration
• Genetic epidemiology of Alzheimer's disease
• Huntington's disease
• Late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD)
• Lewy body disease
• Neural degeneration and repair
• Neurobiology of disease
• Neurobiology of learning and memory
• Neuropsychiatry
• Neuropsychiatry/cognitive disorders
• Pick's disease
• Post-concussion syndrome
• Progressive supranuclear palsy
• Vascular dementia

Centers/Initiatives/Collaborations

All of our Division of Aging and Dementia faculty hold joint appointments in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain and the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, two investigative centers whose goal it is to uncover the causes of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders, and to discover ways to try to prevent and cure these diseases. 

• Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain
• Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Columbia University
• Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease
• New York Brain Bank at Columbia University
• Neuropathology Core
• Lewy Body Disease Association Research Center of Excellence
• Columbia Huntington’s Disease Society of America Center of Excellence
• CurePSP Center of Care

Studies and Trials

Clinical trials and observational studies are currently recruiting participants with Alzheimer’s disease, Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), at risk for AD, Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, Frontotemporal dementias, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, and Huntington’s disease. Several ongoing longitudinal studies recruit participants and families for state of the art imaging, genetic, and biomarker studies to understand the risk factors and clinical course of degenerative diseases. Please visit the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain website for a complete list of current clinical studies and trials.