Gary Beecham
Wake Forest University, NC·Genetics
Alzheimer's disease that strikes at age 65 or younger is called early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD). Mutations in three known genes, APP, PSEN1 and PSEN2, explain only about 10% of these cases.
- Fields
Genetics
Neuroscience
Public Health & Epidemiology
- Topics
Alzheimer's disease
whole-genome sequencing
genetic association
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2027
What they work on
- Identify new genetic variants linked to early-onset Alzheimer's disease without APP, PSEN1 or PSEN2 mutations, using whole-genome sequencing with family linkage and case-control association analyses.
- Assess how ancestry and polygenic risk shape early-onset Alzheimer's risk in non-Hispanic White and Caribbean Hispanic families and individuals.
- Examine how APOE genotype, vascular risk factors, depression and specific cognitive impairments relate to the genetics of early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
More about the research
The genetic causes of the other 90% are largely unknown, and no large studies have focused on them. Most genetic research has instead studied late-onset disease in non-Hispanic White people. Yet early-onset disease seems to share only part of its genetics with the late-onset form. That makes it a promising place to find new drug targets.
Why it matters
Most early-onset Alzheimer's cases have no known genetic cause. Finding the genetic variants behind them could reveal new disease pathways and drug targets for Alzheimer's disease. Including Caribbean Hispanic families extends genetic risk knowledge to an underrepresented population.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Ariadne Letra
University of Pittsburgh, PA·Genetics
Determine the genetic architecture of familial cleft lip and palate (NSCLP) by combining linkage, case-control association and polygenic risk score analyses of whole genome sequences from 172 multigenerational families and additional datasets.
William Bush
University of Miami, FL·Genetics
Identify genetic risk factors for Alzheimer disease that are distinct to African American, African, and Hispanic/Latino populations through multiple statistical analyses of genetic data generated in these cohorts.
Nicholette Allred
Wake Forest University, NC·Genetics
Identify rare genetic variants associated with liver fat in 23,156 ethnically diverse TOPMed participants, using whole genome sequencing with single-variant and gene-level rare-variant burden tests.
The school
Wake Forest University: 27 labs on PI Pages, $345M a year on research, 54 research doctorates a year.
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