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Christian Pike, Ph.D.

Professor of Gerontology, University of Southern California

Dr. Pike graduated magna cum laude from University of Southern California in 1985 with a BS degree in biological sciences. In 1994, he earned his doctoral degree in biological sciences from the University of California Irvine, where his graduate work identified and elucidated the structure-activity relationship of b-amyloid toxicity. He began his postgraduate studies with the Irvine Research Unit in Brain Agingstudying neurodegenerative mechanisms implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Pike joined the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia at UC Irvine as an Assistant Research Professor in 1995 with a continued emphasis on Alzheimer’s research. In 1999, Dr. Pike returned to the University of Southern California as the Hanson Family TrustAssistant Professor in the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and a member of the USC Neuroscience Program. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2005 and Professor in 2012.

Dr. Pike’s research interests continue to focus on Alzheimer’s disease with the general goals of elucidating factors that regulate Alzheimer’s pathogenesis and pursuing translational approaches for the prevention and/or treatment of the disease. Current areas of investigation of his research team include sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease and the relationships between obesity and Alzheimer’s risk. Dr. Pike’s work has been published in over 100 articles and chapters and has been recognized by awards from the Alzheimer’s Association and the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation.

 

Related Research:

Protection Against Alzheimer’s Disease with Longevity-Promoting Intervention 17a-Estradiol Christian Pike Bérénice A. Benayoun 2024-12-23 Protection Against APOE4 With Longevity-Promoting Interventions Christian Pike Bérénice A. Benayoun Caleb Finch 2022-02-15 Interactions Among TREM2, APOE and Sex Caleb Finch Christian Pike 2018-08-27

Funded Research

These projects were made possible from Cure Alzheimer's Fund support.

Project Description Researchers Funding
Protection Against Alzheimer’s Disease with Longevity-Promoting Intervention 17a-Estradiol 2024

$227,410

Protection Against APOE4 With Longevity-Promoting Interventions 2021, 2023

$425,717
Interactions Among TREM2, APOE and Sex 2017, 2019

$328,570

Selected Publications

These published papers resulted from Cure Alzheimer’s Fund support.

McGill, C. J., Christensen, A., Qian, W., Thorwald, M. A., Lugo, J. G., Namvari, S., White, O. S., Finch, C. E., Benayoun, B. A., & Pike, C. J. Protection against APOE4-associated phenotypes with the longevity-promoting intervention 17α-estradiol in middle-aged male mice, Communications Medicine, June 10, 2025, Read More

Thorwald, M. A., Godoy-Lugo, J. A., Garcia, G., Silva, J., Kim, M., Christensen, A., Mack, W. J., Head, E., O'Day, P. A., Benayoun, B. A., Morgan, T. E., Pike, C. J., Higuchi-Sanabria, R., Forman, H. J., & Finch, C. E. Iron-associated lipid peroxidation in Alzheimer’s disease is increased in lipid rafts with decreased ferroptosis suppressors, tested by chelation in mice, Alzheimer's & Dementia, January 29, 2025, Read More

Valencia-Olvera, A. C., Maldonado Weng, J., Christensen, A., LaDu, M. J., & Pike, C. J. Role of estrogen in women’s Alzheimer’s disease risk as modified by APOE, Journal of Neuroendocrinology, October 20, 2022, Read More

Stephen, T. L., Breningstall, B., Suresh, S., McGill, C. J., & Pike, C. J. APOE genotype and biological sex regulate astroglial interactions with amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease mice, Journal of Neuroinflammation, December 1, 2022, Read More

Christensen, A., & Pike, C. J. Effects of APOE Genotype and Western Diet on Metabolic Phenotypes in Female Mice, Metabolites, February 16, 2023, Read More

Stephen, T. L., Cacciottolo, M., Balu, D., Morgan, T. E., LaDu, M. J., Finch, C. E., & Pike, C. J. APOE, Genotype, and Sex affect microglial interactions with plaques in Alzheimer’s disease mice, Acta Neuropathologica Communications, May 21, 2019, Read More

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