John Q. Trojanowski, M.D., Ph.D. is the Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center of the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.D./Ph.D neuropathologist in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He is co-Director for the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research (CNDR) and Director of the University of Pennsylvania Institute on Aging (IOA). In addition, he co-Directs the Marian S. Ware Alzheimer's Program established in 2004. He is the principal investigator on the Penn Biomarker Core of the NIH/NIA Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a landmark study launched by the National Institute on Aging to find methods for monitoring the progression of AD and improving methods of imaging, and the validation of biomarker data. Dr. Trojanowski is responsible for the neuropathology cores in several studies in collaboration with Alzheimer's Disease Centers across the nation and Parkinson's disease research projects.

More on Dr. Trojanowski and the Center for Neurodegenerative Research http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/cndr/Staff/
Trojanowski/trojanowski.html

Steven E. Arnold, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, is Director of the Penn Memory Center (PMC), Associate Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center (ADC), and leader of the ADC Clinical Core. After receiving his M.D. from Boston University, he completed residency training in Psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute / Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York and residency training in Neurology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. He also completed fellowship training in Behavioral Neurology / Cognitive Neuroscience and was a post-doctoral associate in Neuroanatomy in Iowa.

Dr. Arnold is board certified in both neurology and psychiatry. He is also currently Associate Director of the Institute on Aging and Director of the Cellular and Molecular Neuropathology Program and the Geriatric Psychiatry Section in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Arnold's research focuses on cellular and molecular neuropathology and clinical biomarkers in aging, neurodegenerative diseases, and severe mental illnesses.

Download and Read a .pdf of Dr. Arnold's CV (20 pages)

Christopher M. Clark, M.D., a board certified neurologist, is Associate Professor of Neurology, and director of the recently initiated Center of Excellence for Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases. He retired from the role of Director of the PENN Memory Center in January 2008. He is a Fellow of the University of Pennsylvania's Institute on Aging, and has been a faculty member since 1989.

Dr. Clark has spent most of his career studying Alzheimer's disease. He is the current Principal Investigator of a National Institute of Aging grant, and an investigator for numerous other studies including the landmark Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI).

His research interests focus on Alzheimer's disease and the development of diagnostically specific markers, the identification and evaluation of new treatments, the development of new instruments to measure rates of change, and studies of the relationship between Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Download and Read a .pdf of Dr. Clark's CV (21 pages)

 

Jason Karlawish, M.D. is an Associate Professor of Medicine, a Senior Fellow of the Center for Bioethics and of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, and a fellow of the Institute on Aging at the University of Pennsylvania. He is board-certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine. He is the Associate Director of and a practicing clinician in the Penn Memory Center. He is also Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center's Education and Information Transfer Core.

Dr. Karlawish's research focuses on ethical issues in human subjects research, and the care of persons with dementia. He has investigated issues in dementia drug development, informed consent, quality of life, research and treatment decision making, and voting by persons with dementia.

Download and Read a .pdf of Dr. Karlawish's CV (28 pages)

Marianne Watson, R.N., has been with the Alzheimer's Disease Center and Penn Memory Center since 1995 and serves a? the Penn Memory Center Manager. She has extensive clinical experience with the dynamics of the mature patient and their family. Marianne conducts preliminary evaluations and assessments with patients, and handles a wide range of potential patient screening, research recruitment, retention, and patient and family support by telephone. She also manages our Community Resource Center, our normal control cohort and brain autopsy efforts, our sample freezer, and various clinical studies.

Marianne's commitment to research extends beyond her professional role with us. She is a long-time participant in the Nurses Health Study II, the size duration and scope of which is unmatched in the history of women's health research.

Roy Hamilton, M.D., M.S., is an Instructor in Cognitive Neurology for the University of Pennsylvania. He completed residency in Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2005 after having graduating from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2001 with degrees in Medicine and Health Sciences Technology. His research interest is in the characteristics and limits of functional plasticity in the adult human brain. He investigates how the brain reorganizes itself in response to injury, and whether or not it is possible to enhance the brain's potential for reorganization in order to speed rehabilitation. Dr. Hamilton is involved in a number of studies using a technology called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in order to examine and manipulate the functional anatomy and connectivity of the brain in both healthy and injured states. Recently, he has also taken a special interest in patients who may be suffering from a condition known as normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), and he evaluates these patients as part of a coordinated effort between the Memory Disorders Center and the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania.

Outside of his interests as a neuroscientist and clinician, Dr. Hamilton is also deeply interested in medical education. He is involved in medical student education in Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and is the director of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Pipeline Program, a multi-tiered neuroscience education program for inner-city high schools students in Philadelphia.

Download and Read a .pdf of Dr. Hamilton's CV (4 pages)

 

 

Karen Hirschman, M.S.W., Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing and a Fellow at the Institute on Aging here at the University of Pennsylvania. She presently collaborates with the ADC/PMC on several initiatives. Dr. Hirschman's research focuses on caregiver burden, medical decision making, planning for the future, end-of-life care, and health care transitions, with a special emphasis on patients with cognitive impairments and their family members.

She is currently conducting an interview study, "Improving Advance Care Planning", with patients and family members from the ADC/PMC. This study aims to learn if and how people plan for future health care and?medical treatments, and what factors are most important when involving family or friends in discussions on these topics. Dr. Hirschman also runs a study to identify palliative care needs for persons in the more advanced stages of Alzheimer's Disease.

To learn more about either study please contact Dr. Hirschman at 215-573-3755 or via email: karen.hirschman@uphs.upenn.edu.

Felicia Barnack is our Senior Research Administrator, managing all non-clinical aspects of our research portfolio. Felicia will receive a Masters in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2008.

Paige Brookstein joined Dr. Karlawish's research team in June 2007. She earned a BA in psychology from Muhlenberg College in May 2007. Paige is currently working on the CAPA (Capacity to Appoint a Proxy Assessment) study and "Understanding Attitudes about Research Advance Planning" study.

Lauren Cramer joined the Penn Memory Center in 2007 after graduating from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. As a Research Coordinator for the Latino Clinic, she aids clinic flow by assisting patients and informants, explaining informed consent material, and processing samples.

Marianna Diloyan was named Senior Research Coordinator in August 2007 after receiving a Masters degree in Public Health from Temple University in May. She coordinates day to day logistics of our studies and their research coordinators, and is involved in study participant recruitment. Marianna also manages the CERND study, aimed at evaluation of biochemical, neuroimaging, and physiological biomarkers of late life dementia.

Binh Ha, Research Coordinator, joined the Alzheimer's Disease Center and Penn Memory Center staff in July 2007, after receiving her B.A. in biology from Douglass College of Rutgers University. Binh is the primary coordinator for the AVID, ADNI, Antioxidant, Sanofi, Statins, and Biomarkers studies.

Kristin Harkins joined Dr. Karlawish's research team in June 2007. She graduated from Truman State University with a major in psychology and a minor in statistical methods. Kristin is currently working on the "Understanding Attitudes about Research Advance Planning" study.