Abstract: The primary focus of my laboratory is to utilize transgenic mice to study the molecular basis of neurodegeneration, including AD.  More specifically, we have developed and characterized genetic models of neurodegeneration by introducing different human genes carrying disease-causing mutations into mice. Importantly, we have demonstrated that these mice develop numerous biochemical, behavioral and neuropathological features of AD and neurodegeneration. We have been continuing to generate additional models and characterize these mice in terms of molecular biological, biochemical, behavioral, and neuropathological criteria that will help us determine then effect of these neurodegenerative disease gene mutations on in vivo biological function and dysfunction.  It has become increasing clear that innate immune pathways are involved in AD pathogenesis, which has been a more recent focus of the laboratory.  Notably, my laboratory has observed that neuronal-microglial communication through the chemokine fractalkine (CX3CL1) and its cognate receptor, CX3CR1, plays a critical role in AD with opposing effects on the development of the Aβ and microtubule-associated protein tau pathology observed in AD.  Furthermore, my laboratory has begun to examine the role of TBI as an environmental risk factor for neurodegeneration and observed a unique neuroinflammatory response in a mouse model of AD exposed to TBI. Finally, in recent pioneering studies, my laboratory has demonstrated that deficiency for TREM2 ameliorates β-amyloid (Aβ) pathology, and lowers expression of inflammatory mediators in an AD mouse model. These provocative findings suggests that TREM2 is essential for accumulation of TREM2+ myeloid cells around Aβ deposits and that these cells express markers consistent with their derivation from peripheral, infiltrating monocytes.

Bio: Bruce Lamb is the Roberts Family Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Executive Director of the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Lamb received his bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, prior to a post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. In 1996, Dr. Lamb was recruited to Case Western Reserve University, where he rose from Assistant to Associate Professor and finally moved to the Cleveland Clinic in 2005. At the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Lamb was promoted from Associate Professor to Full Professor in 2011. Dr. Lamb was recruited to become the Executive Director of the Stark Neuroscience Research Institute in January of 2016. Dr. Lamb’s laboratory works on the basic science of Alzheimer’s disease, with a focus on: 1) genetic modifiers identified from both mouse and human studies, 2) microglia and neuronal-microglial communication in the development and progression of AD pathologies; and 3) traumatic brain injury as an environmental modifier for the development of AD pathologies. In addition, Dr. Lamb is actively involved in advocacy for increased research funding for the disease. Dr. Lamb was the Leader of the Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Ride in 2010, a cross-country bicycle event supported by the Alzheimer’s Association that featured researchers cycling from California to Capitol Hill to draw attention to the cause. Dr. Lamb has received numerous awards and honors including the Jennifer B. Langston Award from the Cleveland Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Civic Award and Zaven Khachaturian Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Alzheimer’s Association, is a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council of the National Alzheimer’s Association.

~BME Faculty Host: Prof. Pedro Irazoqui~

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