People
Paul Aisen, MD
Senior Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute
Founding Director, Epstein Family Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute
Epstein Alzheimer’s Disease Director’s Chair and Professor of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Biography
Dr. Aisen has been a leading figure in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research for three decades, having developed novel methodologies and directed many large therapeutic trials. He has played a major role in our understanding of the continuum of AD, from the long pre-symptomatic phase through eventual cognitive and functional decline. Aisen and his research team rigorously study new compounds which may prevent the progression of AD-related brain damage and eventually offer prevention strategies for asymptomatic people. USC is proud to have him at Keck School of Medicine of USC as the Epstein Alzheimer’s Disease Director’s Chair and founding director of the Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (USC ATRI). The guiding theme of ATRI is designing better trials for better treatments for Alzheimer’s.
USC ATRI, under Dr. Aisen’s leadership, coordinates and oversees the NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC). The ACTC has 35 member sites across the country with extensive expertise in AD clinical trials. The mission is to accelerate the development of effective interventions for AD and related disorders by coordinating shared expertise and utilizing centralized resources.
Dr. Aisen and ATRI coordinate Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), the most important longitudinal observational study in the field. ADNI is widely regarded to have pioneered real-time sharing of scientific data, an approach that has resulted in over 2800 publications.
A member of the Organizing Committee of the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference for over 14 years, Dr. Aisen’s leadership ensures that a meeting focused entirely on Alzheimer’s Disease therapeutic trials with key leaders in AD research is held annually. The upcoming conference; “Therapeutic Trials in AD: A New Hope for 2022?” will no doubt continue to serve as the platform for a cutting-edge scientific program where the latest in AD therapeutic trials information is presented. Aisen also co-chairs the annual E.U./U.S Task Force on AD Trial Methods and is co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Aisen has been a strong proponent of the amyloid hypothesis of AD and since 2011 has advocated very early intervention with drugs targeting amyloid, designing and launching large international trials at the pre-symptomatic stage of the disease.
