Paul Greengard, Ph.D.

Paul Greengard, Ph.D.
Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, 2000
Head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
Vincent Astor Professor, The Rockefeller University.

Dr. Greengard has served on the editorial boards of over 25 journals, and advises a wide range of organizations, including the National Institutes of Health National Advisory Council on Aging, (2004- ).

From the website of the Rockefeller University, Dr. Greengard writes of his current work:
"The goals of the research group are to understand more fully the molecular basis of communication between neurons in the adult mammalian brain and to elucidate the molecular defects responsible for various neurological and psychiatric disorders."

"Specifically with regard to Alzheimer’s disease, we have demonstrated that the relative amounts of APP that are converted to the nontoxic soluble form of APP (APPs) and the toxic beta-amyloid are controlled by protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation mechanisms. Thus, activators of various protein kinases, as well as inhibitors of various protein phosphatases, reduce the amount of beta-amyloid formed by nerve cells. We are now determining the components of the signal transduction cascade that are responsible for the regulation of APP breakdown, and the formation of beta-amyloid, with the aim of developing new targets for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease."