URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Spring_2018_Melissa-McCarthy

Feng Xu, Ph.D., Research Associate, George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience.

If scientists could answer that question, many millions of people would benefit. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, an estimated 5.7 million Americans currently are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and their care costs exceeds $277 billion each year. As the baby boomer generation ages, those numbers are projected to increase dramatically. Van Nostrand’s research is making important progress. Using lab models, he is identifying diagnostic biomarkers that may help to detect the amyloids earlier

“We also have experimental model systems we developed in our own laboratories. It’s all to understand how the Alzheimer’s process happens and to test ways to block it from happening.”

- William Van Nostrand

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