Hope Center Program on Protein Aggregation and Neurodegeneration (HPAN)

About HPAN

The Hope Center Program on Protein Aggregation and Neurodegeneration (HPAN) is an interdisciplinary program that aims to find diagnostic tools and effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases by investigating their underlying cause.  As part of the larger Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, HPAN faculty work together to,

  • Discover genetic alterations that lead to familial forms of neurodegenerative disease or alter disease risk for sporadic cases.
  • Understand the biochemical and cell biological processes that control metabolism of proteins that misfold in neurodegenerative disorders.
  • Apply models of neurodegenerative disorders to better understand disease pathogenesis and to develop treatments.
  • Perform translational studies in humans to understand metabolism of proteins prone to aggregate in neurodegenerative disorders to develop better diagnostic and treatment methods.

Accomplishing these goals will provide insight to underlying molecular mechanisms of disease, and better ways to diagnose and treat neurodegenerative diseases.

HPAN laboratories use complementary approaches to address questions of protein aggregation in disease.  A subset of these labs are located in the BJC Institute of Health, an inititative of BioMed 21.

HPAN Director

David Holtzman, MD

Neurodegeneration/HPAN Group Meetings: Monthly meetings provide an opportunity to share progress and get feedback.


About BioMed 21

The Hope Center Program on Protein Aggregation and Neurodegeneration (HPAN) is one of five Interdisciplinary Research Centers (IRCs) selected by the Dean of Washington University School of Medicine.  As a BioMed 21 IRC, HPAN was awarded support from the Dean, and space in the new BJC Institute of Health (BJC-IH). Below are those HPAN labs that are based in the BJC-IH. 

Randall Bateman, MD

Randall Bateman, MD

Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor, WashU Neurology

Alzheimer’s Disease: Pathophysiology, biomarkers, predictive diagnostics, treatments

Anil Cashikar, PhD

Anil Cashikar, PhD

Associate Professor, WashU Psychiatry

Oxysterols in Alzheimer’s disease

David Holtzman, MD

David Holtzman, MD

Hope Center Scientific Director; Barbara Burton and Reuben M. Morriss III Distinguished Professor, WashU Neurology

Cellular/Molecular/ Biomarker studies of Alzheimer’s Disease and neonatal brain injury

Celeste Karch, PhD

Celeste Karch, PhD

Professor, WashU Psychiatry

Molecular mechanisms underlying tauopathies

Geraldine Kress, PhD

Geraldine Kress, PhD

Assistant Professor, WashU Neurology

Role of circadian function on memory during aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression

Eric Landsness, MD, PhD

Eric Landsness, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, WashU Neurology

Connection between plasticity-dependent mechanisms for stroke recovery and sleep-dependent plasticity

Jin-Moo  Lee, MD, PhD

Jin-Moo Lee, MD, PhD

Andrew B. & Gretchen P. Jones Professor and Chair, WashU Neurology

Understanding mechanisms of neurologic disease

Brendan Lucey, MD

Brendan Lucey, MD

Professor, WashU Neurology

Understanding the relationship between sleep, the amyloid beta diurnal pattern, and Alzheimer’s disease

Erik Musiek, MD, PhD

Erik Musiek, MD, PhD

Charlotte & Paul Hagemann Professor, WashU Neurology

Aging, oxidative stress, and circadian clock genes in neurodegenerative diseases

Steven Paul, MD

Steven Paul, MD

Professor, WashU Psychiatry

Understanding how apoE contributes to the clearance and metabolism of Aβ in Alzheimer’s disease

Anneliese Schaefer, JD, PhD

Anneliese Schaefer, JD, PhD

Hope Center Executive Director; Professor, WashU Neurology

Motor neuron disease

Gregory Zipfel, MD

Gregory Zipfel, MD

Ralph G. Dacey Distinguished Professor and Chair, WashU Neurosurgery

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy; Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage