DIAN Trials Unit & Clinical Trials Leadership

Randall J. Bateman, MD
Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
600 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: batemanr@neuro.wustl.edu
Research interests
Phone: 314-747-7066
Fax: 314-747-7060

Dr. Randall Bateman is the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Director of the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN, http://dian.wustl.edu ), and Director of the DIAN Trials Unit (DIAN-TU). Dr. Bateman’s research focuses on the pathophysiology and development of improved diagnostics and treatments of Alzheimer’s disease.  Dr. Bateman treats patients with dementia at the Memory Diagnostic Center of Washington University.

Dr. Bateman launched the DIAN-TU Pharma Consortium in 2011 with ten major pharmaceutical companies joining to support and assist in the development of trials for autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease.  Dr. Bateman directs the DIAN-TU, which launched prevention trials in families with dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s disease in 2012.  The DIAN-TU trial is an advanced worldwide adaptive trial platform that tests therapeutics targeting the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease with the goal to slow, stop or reverse Alzheimer’s disease.  The DIAN-TU has launched three Phase 2/3 drug arms with a range of amyloid-beta targets and has now launched tau-directed drugs in combination with amyloid drugs and a primary prevention trial to prevent amyloid plaques from forming.

Dr. Bateman’s lab accomplishments include pioneering the central nervous system Stable Isotope Labeling Kinetics (SILK) measurements in humans, which utilizes sub-atomic labeling with stable isotopes to track in vivo protein production and clearance, leading to understanding of the time and kinetic basis of proteins leading to neurodegeneration.  His lab has made major contributions to the understanding of the structures and functions of neurodegenerative proteins in pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.  His lab has furthered insights of human circadian patterns of amyloid-beta and soluble amyloid precursor protein, and human in vivo control of the alpha-secretase, beta-secretase, and gamma-secretase processing of amyloid-beta. Utilizing SILK techniques, his lab also demonstrated that tau production is increased in Alzheimer’s disease, and that novel forms of tau in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood can diagnose and stage the disease.

His lab discovered the first high-precision blood test for Alzheimer’s disease amyloid plaques in 2017, which is now available to doctors and patients as the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease.  His lab has generated the most accurate blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease in head-to-head comparisons, rivaling that of PET and CSF tests, promising to provide accurate diagnosis and the potential for treatment of millions of patients who otherwise would not have access to accurate diagnosis.

Dr. Bateman is a productive innovator with 47 active or pending patents, and co-founder of C2N Diagnostics, which now provides the first high-accuracy blood test for Alzheimer’s disease based on Dr. Bateman’s discoveries at Washington University.  Dr. Bateman has established multiple research consortiums, including the DIAN-TU Pharma Consortium, Tau SILK Consortium and the NfL Consortium, which are joint academic and industry collaborations to develop biomarkers useful for tracking and staging disease.  Dr. Bateman has established the SILQ Center to further advances in neurodegeneration and aging by utilizing precise measures of neurodegenerative proteins and their production, transport, and clearance in health and disease.

Dr. Bateman has received a number of awards including the Beeson Award for Aging Research, Alzheimer’s Association Zenith Fellow’s Award, Scientific American top innovator, the Glenn Award for Aging Research, the Washington University Chancellor’s Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the MetLife Foundation Award for Medical Research, and the Potamkin Prize. He is a member of the American Neurological Association, the American Society for Clinical Investigation Council, and the American Academy of Neurology. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Inventors.

Eric McDade, DO
Associate Professor of Neurology
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: ericmcdade@wustl.edu
Biography
Phone: 314-747-8423
Fax: 314-747-8427

Charlene Supnet-Bell, PhD
Associate Professor of Neurology
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: supnet@wustl.edu
Biography

David Clifford, MD
Melba and Forest Seay Professor of Clinical Neuropharmacology in Neurology
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: clifforddb@wustl.edu
Biography
Phone: 314-747-8423
Fax: 314-747-8427

Jorge Llibre-Guerra, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: jllibre-guerra@wustl.edu
Phone: 314-747-7066
Fax: 314-747-7060

Alireza Atri, M.D., PhD
Director
Banner Sun Health Research Institute
10515 West Santa Fe Drive
Sun City, AZ 85351
Email: Alireza.atri@bannerhealth.com
Biography
Phone: 623-832-6530
Fax: 623-832-6504

Oskar Hansson, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurology
Head of the Clinical Memory Research Unit, Lund University, Sweden
Consultant neurologist, Memory Clinic, Skåne University Hospital, Sweden
Professor of Neurology, Lund University Sweden
Skånes universitetssjukhus, VE Minnessjukdomar, 205 02 Malmö
Email: oskar.hansson@med.lu.se
Biography
Phone: +46-72-226-77-45

Anton P. Porsteinsson, MD
William B. and Sheila Konar Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neuroscience, and Medicine
Director, Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program (AD-CARE)
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
315 Science Parkway – Entrance A, Suite 100
Rochester, New York 14620
Email: Anton_Porsteinsson@URMC.Rochester.edu
Biography
Phone: 585-602-5201
Fax: 585-442-9951

Lon Schneider, MD
Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Gerontology
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Center for Health Professions
1540 Alcazar Street, Suite 216
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Email: lschneid@usc.edu
Biography
Phone: 323-442-7600
Fax: 323-442-7601

Martin Farlow, MD
Professor and Vice Chairman of Research, Department of Neurology
Associate Director, Indiana Alzheimer Disease Research Center
IU Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders
355 W. 16th Street, GH-4342
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Email: mfarlow@iupui.edu
Biography
Phone: 317-963-7402
Fax: 317-963-7533

Stephen Salloway, MD, MS
Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Director of Neurology and the Memory and Aging Program
Butler Hospital
345 Blackstone Boulevard
Providence, RI 02906
Email: ssalloway@butler.org
Biography
Phone: 401-455-6200

Tammie Benzinger, MD, PhD
Imaging Core Leader
Associate Professor of Radiology
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8131
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: benzingert@wustl.edu
Laboratory website
Phone: 314-362-5950
Fax: 314-362-4886

Dr. Benzinger is an expert in the use of imaging to look for biochemical and structural brain changes.

Carlos Cruchaga, PhD
Genetics Core Co-Leader
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Washington University School of Medicine
660 South Euclid
Box 8134
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: cruchagac@psychiatry.wustl.edu
Laboratory website
Phone: 314-747-1711

Dr. Cruchaga’s research interests are focused on the in the identification and characterization of coding variants implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkison’s Disease (PD), stroke recovery and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Laura Ibanez, PhD,MS

Biomarker Core Leader
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
4444 Forest Park Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63108
Email: ibanezl@wustl.edu
Phone: 314-273-3641

Dr. Ibanez’s research aims to answer the following question: How can we generate a good biomarker? Aside from high sensitivity and specificity, a good biomarker must be cost-effective so it can be accessible at a population level and be easily repeatable; sensitive to acute or pre-clinical phases of the disease to allow greater therapeutic windows and improve patient management; minimally or non-invasive to minimize patient discomfort and agnostic to ethnic backgrounds. Additionally, a good biomarker should be able to monitor disease progression and response to potential disease-modifying therapies. Her research, based on measuring RNA species in plasma, is designed to address all these issues. RNA is highly dynamic, which is potentially useful for monitoring disease progression and the response to treatment. RNA can be measured by real-time PCR, a cost-effective technique routinely used in clinical laboratories. Plasma is minimally invasive, easily accessible, widely used, and stored in most biobanks. Thus, her research focuses on plasma RNA species quantification and the application of advanced bioinformatics techniques to develop novel biomarkers and to identify novel mechanisms involved in neurodegeneration and acute ischemic stroke. Nothing in her lab would be possible without the support of the team and the study participants.

Jason Hassenstab, PhD
Leader, Cognition Core
Assistant Professor of Neurology and Psychology
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: hassenstabj@wustl.edu
Biography
Phone: 314-747-4032
Fax: 314-747-7060

Dr. Hassenstab’s research follows the cognitive changes in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s and their relationship to fluid biomarkers and neuroimaging indicators of Alzheimer’s disease. He is also studying the relationship between weight loss and improved metabolic functioning and how they may benefit neurocognitive function and possibly prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

Alan E. Renton, PhD

Genetics Core Leader
Assistant Professor
Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s Disease
Nash Family Dept. of Neuroscience
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
1425 Madison Ave., Box #1065
New York, NY 10029
Email: alan.renton@mssm.edu
Biography
Phone: 212-659-8632

Dr. Renton’s research focuses on resolving the genetic and functional architecture of Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Chengjie Xiong, PhD

Leader, Biostatistics Core
Professor of Biostatistics
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8067
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: chengjie@wubios.wustl.edu
Biography
Phone: 314-362-3635
Fax: 314-362-2693

Dr. Xiong has served as an associate editor of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and the Associate Editor of Biostatistics for Alzheimer’s Disease and Associated Disorders. Dr. Xiong’s research interests include statistical design of experiments, linear and nonlinear mixed models, longitudinal data analysis, survival analysis and reliability, categorical data analysis, order restricted statistical inferences, and their applications in medicine, biology, education, and engineering.

Anna Santacruz
Operations Program Leader
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: santacruza@wustl.edu
Phone: 314-362-3207
Fax: 314-747-7060

Susan Mills
Senior Director Research Clinical Trials Operations
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: susanmills@wustl.edu
Phone: 314-362-3472
Fax: 314-747-7060

Stephanie Belyew
Associate Director Research Clinical Trials Operations
Home Health Nurses, Subject Issues, GCP, Training, Source documents
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: sbelyew@wustl.edu
Phone: 314-286-2294
Fax: 314-747-7060

Angela Fuqua
Senior Manager Clinical Pharma Research Programs
Study Drug, Central Lab, Clinical Scales
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: afuqua@wustl.edu
Phone: 314-362-4201
Fax: 314-747-7060

Annette Stiebel
Senior Manager Clinical Pharma Research Programs
ICFs, Regulatory, Safety Reporting, TMF, SOPs
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: astiebel@wustl.edu
Phone: 314-362-9901
Fax: 314-747-7060

Shannon Sweeney
Manager Financial Operations
Finance and Contracts
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave., CB 8111
St. Louis, MO 63110
Email: ssweeney@wustl.edu
Phone: 314-362-3354
Fax: 314-747-7060