Robert Rissman

Biography
Dr. Rissman is Professor Physiology and Neuroscience and the W.M. Keck Endowed Chair in Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). He is the founding Director of the Neuroscience Translational Research Division (NTRD) at USC’s San Diego campus, Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI). Concurrently with his research, Dr. Rissman also serves as the Biomarker Unit Lead for the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) and USC’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Using biobanked human specimens, animal and cell models, the goal of Dr. Rissman’s basic science research is to identify and validate plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) to better understand mechanisms of neurodegeneration and to streamline clinical trials recruitment. Work from Dr. Rissman’s lab has led to the validation of plasma biomarkers that predict AD brain neuropathology and progression of dementia. Using animal and cell culture models, Dr. Rissman’s lab is focused on identifying synucleinopathy in AD can be identified.