I am an epidemiologist by training and was previously professor in Epidemiology at the University of Washington. my research has focused on the neurodegenerative, vascular and other conditions causing the occurrence and progression of dementia and cognitive impairment. These conditions (ADRD) include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's/Lewy body disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and cerebrovascular disease. From 1999 through August of 2025, I was founding director of the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) [U01 AG016976; U24 AG072122] . Careful study design, data collection and analytic methods are central to health sciences studies, at the laboratory, clinical and population levels in order to infer causal associations with disease occurrence and progression. Thus, I bring that epidemiologic perspective to my research at WashU.

Neurodegenerative, vascular and other conditions causing dementia and cognitive impairment. These conditions (ADRD) include primarily Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's/Lewy body disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, LATE, and cerebrovascular disease. (Though I am familiar with clinical trial methods and interpretations. I have no experience running clinical trials myself, i.e., I am not a trialist.

I may be able to provide insight linking clinical or molecular definitions/observations of disease with overall study design issues and process techniques to facilitate the study of disease occurrence and progression among groups or populations (eventually)

I view mentoring as an active collaboration and interchange where we both learn from each other