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| First Name: | Rudy | | Last Name: | Tanzi | | Title: | Professor of Neurology (Neuroscience) | | Advanced Degrees: | Ph.D., neurobiology, Harvard | | Affiliation: | Massachusetts General Hospital | | Department: | Genetics and Aging Research Unit, Director | | Street Address 1: | 114 16th Street | | City: | Charlestown | | State/Province: | MA | | Zip/Postal Code: | 02045 | Country/Territory: | U.S.A. | | Phone: | 617-726-6845 | | Fax: | 617-724-1949 | | Email Address: |  |
Disclosure:
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Member reports the following financial or other potential conflicts of interest: [Last Modified: 12 July 2009]
Co-founder and shareholder in Neurogenetic Pharmaceuticals and Prana Biotechnology. Consultant to Eisai, Seimens, Pathway Genomics, Neurogenetic Pharmaceuticals, and Prana Biotechnology.
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View all comments by Rudy Tanzi
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Proteomics, Genetics, Apoptosis/Cell cycle, Molecular and Cell biology, Bioinformatics/Statistics, A-beta PP/A-beta
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Dr. Rudolph Tanzi is a Professor of Neurology and holder of the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Endowed Chair in Neurology at Harvard University. At Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Dr. Tanzi serves as the Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit, which consists of eight laboratories investigating the genetic causes of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Tanzi has been investigating the molecular and genetic basis of neurological disease since 1980 when he participated in the pioneering study that led to location of the Huntington's disease gene, the first disease gene to be found by genetic linkage analysis. Since 1982, Dr. Tanzi has investigated the genetic causes of Alzheimer's disease (AD). He co-discovered all three genes that cause early-onset familial AD, including the first familial AD gene, known as the amyloid β-protein (A4) precursor (APP), and the presenilin genes. In 1993, Dr. Tanzi discovered the gene responsible for the neurological disorder known as Wilson's disease, and over the past 25 years, he has collaborated on studies identifying several other disease genes including those causing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and autism. Dr. Tanzi currently spearheads the Alzheimer’s Genome Project, which recently identified four new AD gene candidates. This achievement was named one of the “Top Ten Medical Breakthroughs of 2008” by Time Magazine. In 1994, Dr. Tanzi discovered that the metals, zinc and copper, are necessary for the formation of neurotoxic assemblies of the Aβ peptide, the main component of β-amyloid deposits in brains of AD patients. Based on this discovery, Dr. Tanzi developed the “Metal hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease”, which has led to successful clinical trials for treating and preventing AD by targeting Aβ−metal interactions. These trials were carried out by Prana Biotechnology, LTD, for which Dr. Tanzi served as a co-founder. Dr. Tanzi is one of the ten most cited researchers in AD, having co-authored over 340 research articles. He is also a co-author of a popular trade book on Alzheimer’s disease entitled “Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease”. Dr. Tanzi has received several awards for his work including the two highest awards for Alzheimer’s disease research: The Metropolitan Life Foundation Award and The Potamkin Prize. He has also received the Reagan National Alzheimer’s Disease Research Award, an NIH MERIT Award, and the “Oneness of Humanity” Global Award, and is an AAAS Fellow. In 2007, he was included on the list of the “Harvard 100: Most Influential Alumni” of over 220,000 living alumni. His invited honorary lectures include a Nobel Forum Lecture, Smithsonian Institution Distinguished Lecture, and the Society for Neuroscience Public Lecture. Dr. Tanzi is the Chairman of the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund Research Consortium and serves over 40 editorial and scientific advisory boards.
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1. Gusella JF, Wexler NS, Conneally PM, Naylor SL, Anderson MA, Tanzi RE, Watkins PC, Ottina K, Wallace MR, Sakaguchi AY, Young AB, Shoulson I, Bonilla E, Martin JB. A polymorphic DNA marker genetically linked to Huntington's Disease. Nature 1983; 306: 234-238.
2. Tanzi, RE, Gusella JF, Watkins PC, Bruns GAP, St. George-Hyslop PH, Van Keuren ML, Patterson D, Pagan S, Kurnit DM, Neve RL. The amyloid beta protein gene: cDNA cloning, mRNA distribution, and genetic linkage near the Alzheimer locus. Science 1987; 235: 880-884.
3. Tanzi RE, St. George-Hyslop PH, Haines JL, Polinsky RJ, Nee L, Foncin J-F, Neve RL, McClatchey AI, Conneally PM, Gusella JF. The genetic defect in familial Alzheimer's disease is not tightly linked to the amyloid beta protein gene. Nature 1987; 329: 156-157.
4. Tanzi RE, McClatchey AI, Lamperti ED, V-Komaroff L, Gusella JF, Neve R. Protease inhibitor domain encoded by an amyloid protein precursor mRNA associated with Alzheimer's disease. Nature 1988; 331: 528-530.
5. Bush AI, Pettingell W, Multhaup G, Paradis MD, Vonsattel J-P, Gusella JF, Beyreuther K, Masters CL, Tanzi RE. Rapid induction of Alzheimer Aβ amyloid formation by zinc. Science, 1994; 265: 1464-1467.
6. Sherrington R, Rogaev EI, Liang Y, Rogaeva EA, Levesque G, Ikeda M, Chi H,, Lin C, Li G, Holman K, Tsuda T, Mar L, Foncin J-F, Bruni AC, Montesi MP, Sorbi S, Rainero I, Pinessi L, Nee L, Chumakov Y, Pollen D, Wasco W, Haines JL, Da Silva R, Pericak-Vance M, , Tanzi RE, Roses AD, Fraser PE, Rommens JM, St George-Hyslop PH. Cloning of a novel gene bearing missense mutations in early onset familial Alzheimer disease. Nature, 1995; 375, 754-760.
7. Levy-Lahad E, Wasco W, Poorkaj P, Romano DM, Oshima Jm Pettingell WH, Yu C, Jondro PD, Schmidt SD, Wang K, Crowley AC, Fu Y-H, Guenette SY, Galas D, Nemens E, Wijsman EM, Bird TD, Schellenberg GD, Tanzi RE. Candidate gene for the chromosome 1 familial Alzheimer's disease locus. Science, 1995; 269: 973-977.
8. Bertram L, Blacker D, Mullin K, Keeney D, Jones J, Basu S, Yhu S, McInnis M, Go R, Vekrellis K, Selkoe D, Saunders A, Tanzi R. Evidence for genetic linkage of Alzheimer’s disease to chromosome 10q. Science 2000 290: 2302-2303.
9. Bertram L, Hiltunen M, Parkinson M, Ingelsson M, Lange C, Ramasamy K, Mullin K, Menon R, Sampson AJ, Hsiao MY, Elliott KJ, Moscarillo T, Hyman BT, Wagner SL, Becker KD, Blacker D, Tanzi RE. Family-based association between Alzheimer’s disease and variants in UBQLN1. New Engl. J. Med., 2005 352: 884-894.
10. Bertram L, Lange C, Mullin K, Parkinson M, Hsiao M, Hogan MF, Schjeide BM, Hooli B, DiVito J, Ionita L, Jiang H, Laird N, Moscarillo T, Ohlsen KL, Elliott K, Wang X, Hu-Lince D, Ryder M, Murphy A, Wagner SL, Blacker D, Becker KD, Tanzi RE. Genome-wide association analysis reveals putative Alzheimer’s disease susceptibility loci in addition to APOE. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 2008; 83:623-632.
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How does Abeta toxicity lead to tangle formation in AD? |
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