Alison Goate, DPhil, Chair of the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences and Director of the Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s Disease, leads groundbreaking research on how genetic risk factors contribute to Alzheimer’s. Her work focuses on microglia, the brain's immune cells, and how genetic variants, particularly the APOE e44 genotype, impair their ability to manage amyloid plaques, increasing Alzheimer’s risk. Using cutting-edge techniques like genome-editing and stem cell modeling, her team is identifying therapeutic strategies that enhance microglial function to prevent neurodegeneration, offering new insights for targeted treatments.