Neurology
Our Specialists
Center for Aging and Developmental Biology
William J. Bowers, Ph.D.
585-273-2195
Current Titles and Roles
Assistant Professor, Neurology in the Center for Aging and Developmental Biology
Research
Dissecting the dynamic interplay between inflammation and Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology using novel transgenic modeling and immunotherapeutic approaches.
Our investigative group is interested in assessing the contribution of inflammation in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Inflammation has long been hypothesized to play a critical role in AD. Extant data support a more secondary role for inflammation in AD pathogenesis rather than an etiological one, however direct assessment of the latter has been lacking. We are utilizing novel transgenic mice that separately carry silent transgenes encoding potent inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, which will be expressed only when experimentally activated. These cytokines/chemokines were selected based upon their purported role(s) in brain inflammation and neurodegeneration with each exhibiting varying effects on the inflammatory cell milieu in the brain. We are also developing novel Herpes simplex virus (HSV) amplicon vector-based AD vaccines directed against the amyloid-beta peptide, a proteolytic fragment of amyloid precursor protein believed to play an important role in AD pathogenesis. Studying the effects of peripheral amplicon vaccination in the context of conditionally inflamed AD mouse models makes this a novel approach for understanding AD pathogenesis, inflammation, and the immune responses required to mediate protection via amyloid-based immunotherapy.