Research Description

The Albers’s Laboratory uses the olfactory system of mice and humans to elucidate early pathologic events of neurodegeneration in order to find: (1) a detailed mechanistic understanding of early pathogenic processes that are modifiable or reversible, and (2) a means to detect early stages of these diseases in humans before the onset of symptoms and distinguish early pathologic events from changes produced by aging.

In the laboratory, we combine molecular biological, anatomical, physiological and behavioral techniques to test hypotheses regarding the mechanism of actions of genes associated with neurodegenerative disease. We have generated transgenic mouse lines that express genes associated with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases in defined olfactory neuron populations with temporal control using a tetracycline-regulated transcription factor. We will be extending this experimental approach to genes associated with other neurodegenerative diseases, such as frontal temporal dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

In human studies, an odor-naming deficit is one of the strongest biomarkers to predict the development of AD in a person with mild memory complaints. We have identified ten odors that independently predict the conversion of people with mild cognitive impairment to patients with AD. We are using these ten odors in an odor-induced fMRI paradigm to decipher areas of the olfactory neural circuit that are selectively affected early in the disease course. Results from these studies will inform the development of the next generation of olfactory screening tests and identify sites in the olfactory neural circuit for further study in the mouse system.

Principal Investigator

Mark W. Albers, MD, PhD

• Assistant Professor of Neurology,
  Harvard Medical School
• Assistant in Neurology,
  Massachusetts General Hospital

Research Scientists

• Alefiya Albers - visiting scientist
• Luxiang Cao, PhD - Postdoctoral Fellow
• Steven Rodriguez, PhD - Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Assistants & Technicians

• Benjamin Schrank
• Isabel Costantino

NCBI PubMed Publications

Albers Laboratory Mark W Albers

Phone: 617-724-7401
Fax: 617-764-1480

Public Transportation Access: yes
Disabled Access: yes

E-mail Address

albers.mark@mgh.harvard.edu

Phone & Fax

Research Office Phone: 617-724-7401
Lab Phone: 617-643-3-0680
Lab Fax: 617-764-1480

Mailing Address

Mark W. Albers, MD, PhD
Mailcode: CNY B114-2-2003
MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MIND)
114 16th Street, Room 2003
Charlestown, MA 02129

Patient Appointments & Clinical OfficeMemory Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology

Phone: 617-726-1728