Sarver Heart Center Grand Rounds: Common Molecular Mechanisms of Alzheimer's and Cardiovascular Disease

Fri, 01/19/2018 - 12:00pm

Joachim Herz, MD, professor, molecular genetics, neurology and neurotherapeutics, UT Southwestern, Dallas, presents "Common Molecular Mechanisms of Alzheimer's and Cardiovascular Disease."

Dr. Herz graduated from medical school at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, in 1983. He continued training as a resident in surgery in Germany and England until he joined the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in 1985. There, he received training in molecular biology and conducted research work that included the discovery and cloning of a novel member of the LDL receptor gene family, the LDL receptor-related protein. In 1989, UT Southwestern recruited Dr. Herz to the Department of Molecular Genetics, where he attained his current position of professor in 1998. He also holds the Thomas O. and Cinda Hicks Family Distinguished Chair in A;zheimer's Disease Research and the Presbyterian Village North Foundation Distinguished Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Therapeutic Research.

Dr. Herz’s current research focuses on a major genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease—that is, how Apolipoprotein E (ApoE), for which members of the LDL gene family are also receptors, cause buildup of toxic amyloid plaques in the brain. The Herz Lab is trying to determine whether reducing ApoE in the brain could eventually be a viable therapeutic option for treating Alzheimer’s. His work could also yield breakthroughs in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in which ApoE and its receptors play a key role in the hardening and narrowing of the arteries. Dr. Herz and his colleagues are actively pursuing drug discovery in partnership with pharmaceutical and biotech companies, which could have a potentially transformative impact on nearly half of the most common diseases affecting humankind.

Watch it live.

Event Location: 

Sarver Heart Center, Room 4137