Cure Alzheimer's Fund Cure Alzheimer's Fund

Erik S. Musiek, M.D., Ph.D.

Charlotte & Paul Hagemann Professor of Neurology and Co-Director, Center On Biological Rhythms And Sleep (COBRAS), Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Dr. Musiek is currently the Charlotte & Paul Hagemann Professor of Neurology and Co-Director of the Center On Biological Rhythms And Sleep (COBRAS) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.  He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, and completed neurology residency at University of Pennsylvania before moving to Washington University for fellowship training in dementia, under the mentorship of Drs. John Morris and David Holtzman. He subsequently started his own lab at Washington University.

Clinically, Dr.  Musiek is a neurologist with a specialty in memory disorders and dementia, and a member of the Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.  His lab research focuses on circadian rhythms and clock gene function in the regulation of brain redox signaling and neurodegeneration, particularly in Alzheimer’s Disease.  His work employs mouse and cellular models, and examines the role of circadian clock genes in neuronal homeostasis, the consequences of circadian dysfunction in models of neurodegenerative diseases, and the effect of age-related neurodegenerative disease (such as Alzheimer’s Disease) on circadian systems.  The goal of these lines of inquiry is to identify novel neuroprotective strategies based on the endogenous circadian system and its regulation of brain susceptibility to neurodegenerative insults. Dr.  Musiek is an investigator in several clinical studies through the Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Washington University, and also conducts clinically-oriented research examining circadian rhythms in humans and how they relate to biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease pathology.

https://www.musieklab.org

https://cobras.wustl.edu

Twitter/X: @ErikMusiek

Related Research:

Circadian Desynchrony, Glial Dysfunction and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis Erik S. Musiek 2023-12-09 The Circadian Clock Modulates Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease Via REV-ERBA (Year 1) Erik S. Musiek 2018-12-13

Funded Research

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

Project Description Researchers Funding
Circadian Desynchrony, Glial Dysfunction and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis 2023, 2025

$398,273.78
The Circadian Clock Modulates Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease Via REV-ERBA (Year 1) 2018-2019

$344,634

Selected Publications

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

Lee, J., Kang, R., Park, S., Saliu, I. O., Son, M., Voorhees, J. R., Dimitry, J. M., Quillin, E. I., Woodie, L. N., Lananna, B. V., Gan, L., Goo, Y. A., Zhao, G., Lazar, M. A., Burris, T. P., & Musiek, E. S. REV-ERBα regulates brain NAD+ levels and tauopathy via an NFIL3–CD38 axis, Nature Aging, September 1, 2025, Read More

Lee, J., Dimitry, J. M., Song, J. H., Son, M., Sheehan, P. W., King, M. W., Travis Tabor, G., Goo, Y. A., Lazar, M. A., Petrucelli, L., & Musiek, E. S. Microglial REV-ERBα regulates inflammation and lipid droplet formation to drive tauopathy in male mice, Nature Communications, August 25, 2023, Read More

Wang, C., Nambiar, A., Strickland, M. R., Lee, C., Parhizkar, S., Moore, A. C., Musiek, E. S., Ulrich, J. D., & Holtzman, D. M. APOE-ε4 synergizes with sleep disruption to accelerate Aβ deposition and Aβ-associated tau seeding and spreading, Journal of Clinical Investigation, July 17, 2023, Read More

Griffin, P., Sheehan, P. W., Dimitry, J. M., Guo, C., Kanan, M. F., Lee, J., Zhang, J., & Musiek, E. S. REV-ERBα mediates complement expression and diurnal regulation of microglial synaptic phagocytosis, eLife, December 1, 2020, Read More

Back to Our Researchers