My research interests lie in the Diagnosis and classification of Neurodegenerative Disorders. I am Principal Investigator of the Neuropathology Core of the Bryan ADRC which has been continuously funded since 1985 by the National Institute on Aging. The Udall Parkinson Disease Research Center of Excellence directed by Dr. Jeffrey Vance was first funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in January 2000. As Director of the Neuropathology Core of these two major Program Projects I provide postmortem neuropathological diagnosis for patients and controls enrolled in clinical and genetic research projects. Another major resource for these centers is the Rapid Autopsy Program which retrieves human tissue within 1-3 hours after death. This tissue is then stored in the Kathleen Price Bryan Brain Bank and shared with Investigators at Duke and all over the world. Corrdination of the Autopsy Program requires close cooperation between the Department of Pathology, the Division of Neurology and the Center for the Human Genetics.
