Roger Rosenberg

Roger Rosenberg, M.D., is a Professor of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics and Physiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he has been affiliated since 1973. He served as Chair of the Department of Neurology from 1973 to 1991 and is the founding Director of the NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Center, continuously supported since 1988. His research focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative disorders, including the development of a DNA Aβ42 vaccine and studies of amyloid precursor protein processing. Rosenberg also contributed to understanding genetic neurological diseases like Machado-Joseph disease, identifying CAG triplet repeats as causative mutations. He holds the Abe (Brunky), Morris and William Zale Distinguished Chair and a US Patent for amyloid beta gene vaccines (2009).

His work combines molecular genetics, immunology, and clinical research. Key achievements include demonstrating platelet Aβ42 as a biomarker for Alzheimer’s and showing DNA vaccination’s potential in reducing amyloid and tau pathology in preclinical models. Rosenberg’s research spans translational medicine, from bench-to-clinic, with a focus on therapeutic development.

Awards include sustained NIH funding for his Alzheimer’s Center and his patented vaccine. He authored textbooks such as Rosenberg's Molecular and Genetic Basis of Neurologic and Psychiatric Disease (6th ed., 2020). His lab investigates memory mechanisms, proposing a genetic model involving epigenomic signaling in synapses.