Stephen Gomperts

Dr. Gomperts's research program is focused on brain PET imaging markers, circuit mechanisms, and therapies for the neurodegenerative diseases, primarily in the areas of Parkinson’s disease (PD), Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

In human studies, he employs PET molecular imaging of pathogenic processes such as beta-amyloid, tau, and the loss of dopamine cells to develop insights into these diseases.

Ongoing translational work in the laboratory employs neurophysiology and biochemistry in disease models to understand and develop novel treatments for these diseases. Studies include the development and evaluation of small molecule therapeutics for these diseases, as well as the use of large scale, multi-electrode recordings of brain cell activity together with dynamic calcium imaging and optogenetic tools to investigate the function of brain circuits and rescue their impairment in these diseases.

Research Interests

alpha-synuclein; alzheimer's disease; amyloid beta-peptides; basic systems neuroscience; brain mri images; corticobasal ganglionic degeneration; dementia; hippocampal memory processing; hippocampus; lewy bodies; lewy body disease; mild cognitive impairment; neurophysiology; parkinson disease; pet imaging; progressive supranuclear palsy; synapses; tau proteins; therapeutic development; ventral tegmental area