Journal of Alzheimers Disease & Parkinsonism
Open Access

Thomas Wisniewski

Thomas Wisniewski New York University School of Medicine  USA

Biography

Dr. Wisniewski obtained his MD at Kings College School of Medicine in the UK. He did his Neurology and Neuropathology Residencies at NYU and Columbia-Presbyterian, respectively. He is a board certified Neurologist and Neuropathologist, who runs an active research laboratory focusing on neurodegenerative disorders, in particular the mechanisms which drive amyloid deposition in Alzheimer''s and prion related diseases. This work has led to over 240 peer-reviewed publications. An important aim of his work has been to direct this greater understanding toward therapeutic interventions. Key discoveries have included discovering the role of apolipoprotein E in driving amyloid deposition in late-onset AD. Dr. Wisniewski coined the term "pathological chaperone" to denote the role of apoE, even prior to the discovery of the linkage of apoE4 to late-onset AD. Dr. Wisniewski has also been developing strategies for the enhanced clearance of pathological conformations of both amyloid beta and tau proteins in AD using non-toxic, highly immunogenic proteins as "vaccines". This approach has been shown to be highly efficacious in several animal models of AD and prion diseases. He has also been working at using this immunomodulation approach for a broader list of neurodegenerative diseases, which are called "conformational disease". His work has shown that this approach delays the onset of disease in animal models of prion infection. Recent prion related studies have focused on testing a novel mucosal vaccine in white tailed deer to prevent chronic wasting disease (CWD). CWD is an emerging, highly infectious prion disease affecting large numbers of cervids in the USA and Canada. Recent data suggests mucosal vaccination can give partial protection from CWD.

 

Publications

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