Cure Alzheimer's Fund Cure Alzheimer's Fund

Leah Cuddy, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor, Neurology; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Leah Cuddy’s research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration and cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. She is interested in understanding the physiological role of angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE1) in the brain and how ACE genetic variants increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. FDA-approved medications that target ACE1 exist for the treatment of hypertension, and her work could provide insight as to whether these drugs could potentially prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Cuddy is also interested in elucidating mechanisms that cause dysfunctional lysosomal trafficking in neurodegenerative diseases and lead to the aggregation of pathological proteins such as Ab42 and a-synuclein. Dr. Cuddy uses transgenic mouse models, cell lines and human iPSC derived neurons to investigate these questions.

Related Research:

Single Nucleus RNA Sequencing Analysis of ACE1 R1284Q Knock-in Mice Robert Vassar David M. Gate Leah Cuddy 2022-05-03 Single Nucleus RNA Sequencing Analysis of ACE1 R1284Q Knockin Mice GENEWIZ Leah Cuddy Robert Vassar 2020-11-12

Funded Research

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

Project Description Researchers Funding
Single Nucleus RNA Sequencing Analysis of ACE1 R1284Q Knock-in Mice 2022

$246,804
Single Nucleus RNA Sequencing Analysis of ACE1 R1284Q Knockin Mice 2020

$234,796

Selected Publications

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

Jeon, S., Salvo, M. A., Alia, A. O., Popovic, J., Zagardo, M., Chandra, S., Nassan, M., Gate, D., Vassar, R., & Cuddy, L. K. Neuronal ACE1 knockout disrupts the hippocampal renin angiotensin system leading to memory impairment and vascular loss in normal aging, Neurology of Disease, November 7, 2024, Read More

Alia, A. O., Jeon, S., Popovic, J., Salvo, M. A., Sadleir, K. R., Vassar, R., & Cuddy, L. K. Aberrant glial activation and synaptic defects in CaMKIIα-iCre and nestin-Cre transgenic mouse models, Scientific Reports, December 21, 2022, Read More

Cuddy, L. K., Prokopenko, D., Cunningham, E. P., Brimberry, R., Song, P., Kirchner, R., Chapman, B. A., Hofmann, O., Hide, W., Procissi, D., Hanania, T., Leiser, S. C., Tanzi, R. E., & Vassar, R. Abeta-accelerated neurodegeneration caused by Alzheimer’s-associated ACE variant R1279Q is rescued by angiotensin system inhibition in mice, Science Translational Medicine, September 30, 2020, Read More

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