Robert J Vassar

Robert J. Vassar is the Davee Professor of Alzheimer Research and Director of the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. He holds joint appointments in the Department of Neurology and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. His research focuses on molecular mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis.

Education includes:

• BS: University of Chicago (1978)
• PhD: University of Chicago (1992)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship: Columbia University, Molecular Neuroscience (1996)

Research interests center on Alzheimer's disease mechanisms including: β-secretase (BACE1) function, genetic risk factors (ACE1 and UNC5C mutations), microbiome interactions with neuroinflammation, and biomarker development. His lab employs transgenic models, proteomics, and cellular neuroscience approaches to identify therapeutic targets.

Publications primarily investigate amyloid pathology, tau proteoforms, neuroinflammation pathways, and genetic determinants of neurodegeneration, with recent work exploring gut-brain axis interactions and single-cell transcriptomics.

Major scientific awards:

• Potamkin Prize (2009)
• MetLife Foundation Award (2007)
• Zenith Fellows Award (2015)
• Davee Endowed Chair (2019)

Directs the NIH-funded Northwestern Alzheimer's Disease Research Center clinical trial and mentors graduate students/postdocs investigating molecular neurodegeneration. Leads multidisciplinary teams studying microbiome-astrocyte interactions and genetic mutation effects.