Research Team Members
Jayandra Jung Himali, PhD
Research efforts are focused on the interrelated areas of : (i) the epidemiology of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), (ii) traditional and novel biomarkers for dementia and AD, (iii) the epidemiology of stroke and vascular cognitive impairment, and understanding vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia including AD and (iv) investigating the role of modifiable lifestyle factors: sleep, diet, physical activity on the incidence of dementia, cognitive decline and MRI-defined brain aging. Additional research focuses on outcome assessment in epilepsy and neuropathology.
Jayandra Jung Himali, Ph.D., also serves as an investigator of the Framingham Heart Study and an adjunct associate professor of neurology and biostatistics at Boston University Schools of Medicine and of Public Health.
Research Areas
Biological & Innovative Research, Population Neuroscience
Contact:
himali@uthscsa.edu
Sarah C. Hopp, PhD
Research focuses on microglia, the immune cells of the central nervous system, and how these cells are involved in Alzheimer’s disease and other age-associated neurodegenerative diseases. Microglia changes during aging, in Alzheimer’s disease and chronic neuroinflammation. A main research objective is to understand how these changes contribute to the initiation and progression of neurodegeneration and cognitive deficits. One line of research focuses on microglia interaction with tau pathology. Misfolded tau accumulates and spreads during Alzheimer’s disease and other tauopathies, and recent evidence from the laboratory suggests that microglia contribute to the spread of tau pathology via dysfunctional degradation of tau.
A second line of research focuses on how microglia intracellular calcium dysregulation in the context of Alzheimer’s pathology alters normal microglia processes and contributes to their dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease. A particular interest is differentiating cell autonomous and non-cell autonomous effects of manipulating microglia in vivo. A variety of methods are utilized to address these research goals including transgenic animal models, behavior analyses, cell culture, imaging, protein biochemistry, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry and pharmacological and genetic manipulation of microglia-specific pathways.
Research Areas
Biological & Innovative Research
Contact:
hopps1@uthscsa.edu
Research Profile
Sarah Horn, MD
Sarah Horn, MD, is a movement disorders specialist with expertise in the diagnosis and management of Parkinson’s disease and related neurodegenerative parkinsonian disorders. Dr. Horn has an interest in comparative effectiveness research and clinical trials and is currently the principal investigator for an actively enrolling pragmatic clinical trial funded by the Alzheimer’s Association studying the long-term effects of quetiapine versus pimavanserin for psychosis associated with Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies in a real-world setting.
Research Areas
Clinical Research