Professor Ranjan Duara, MD

Medical Director, Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders,
Denis C. Cole Family Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease Research
Associate Director & Clinical Core Leader, Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center

Abstract: Plasma-based biomarkers have the potential to revolutionize clinical practice and
research in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by providing a readily accessible, non-invasive, and
inexpensive method to identify the deposition of toxic forms of amyloid beta-protein and its
downstream effects in the brain, including various epitopes of phospho-Tau (pTau), markers of
neurodegeneration and astroglial activation. These plasma biomarkers have utility for
identifying aspects of the main pathological features of Alzheimer’s disease, known as the
Amyloid, Tau, Neurodegeneration (ATN) Framework. In addition, these biomarkers have
shown promise for diagnosing AD, determining prognosis, monitoring the effects of current
and future disease-modifying treatments, and helping to plan and manage clinical care. In this
presentation, I will provide summaries of the pathology, clinical diagnosis, and treatment of
AD, followed by a description of the clinical utility of selected plasma biomarkers, such as Aβ
42/40 ratio, pTau-181, pTau-217 and Neurofilament Light (NfL).

Biography: Dr. Duara brings 40 years of experience as a principal investigator over many research
projects at Mount Sinai Medical Center of Florida. He has served as the Medical Director of the Wien
Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach,
since its inception in 1987. Dr. Duara is a site PI for the State of Florida Alzheimer's Disease Initiative
(ADI) Memory Disorder Clinic and the Principal Investigator of the ADI State of Florida Brain Bank since
1987. In addition, he has been PI or site-PI in several NIH grants, including two current grants focusing
on brain imaging: the 1Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) and the Alzheimer's
Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), including the ADNI Diversity Taskforce Supplement. The Wien
Center has a 30-year history of research on diverse populations, especially Hispanics. Dr. Duara is a
neurologist with extensive experience studying the clinical, neurocognitive, and neuroimaging aspects
of Alzheimer's and other dementias. His research focused on early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and
other dementias, MRI and amyloid imaging, genetic epidemiology, and the methodology for staging
the transition from normal cognitive aging to dementia.