Roberta Marongiu, PhD, has been awarded a two-year, $275,000 NIH-NIA R21 grant and an additional $125,000 administrative supplement to the NIH-NIA R21 to study the effects of menopause on the development of Alzheimer’s disease. The pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (amyloid β, neurofibrillary tangles, synaptic and neuronal loss, and chronic gliosis) are laid down starting 20 years before clinical symptoms appear, at about the time of perimenopause in women. Yet very little is known about the influence of menopause transition on the susceptibility to Alzheimer’s and its progression. Dr. Marongiu’s research will use mouse models to measure the effect of the fluctuating estrogen levels of perimenopause on Alzheimer’s pathology and cognitive decline.
Dr. Marongiu is assistant professor of neuroscience in neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. She also holds a secondary appointment in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine. (More about Dr. Marongiu)
As a young new investigator, using novel genetic, viral, and animal model approaches. Dr. Marongiu focuses her lab research on the identification of the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of sex and menopause on brain disorders like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.