{"id":10262,"date":"2026-06-02T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/?p=10262"},"modified":"2026-06-01T13:56:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T20:56:25","slug":"uncovering-answers-to-alzheimers-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/uncovering-answers-to-alzheimers-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncovering Answers to Alzheimer\u2019s Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"text-container\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--eyebrow\">\n\n    \n  <span>Campus News<\/span>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n      <h1>Uncovering Answers to Alzheimer\u2019s Disease<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p>The Norman and Mary Pattiz Foundation funds research and early detection efforts at Keck School of Medicine of USC that may help open a new way to tackle dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"meta\">\n                  <span class=\"author\">Candace Pearson<\/span>\n        \n                  <span class=\"date\">June 02, 2026<\/span>\n              <\/div>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--embed\">\n\n    \n  <div class=\"heateor_sss_sharing_container heateor_sss_horizontal_sharing\" data-heateor-ss-offset=\"0\" data-heateor-sss-href='https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/uncovering-answers-to-alzheimers-disease\/'><div class=\"heateor_sss_sharing_ul\"><a aria-label=\"Facebook\" class=\"heateor_sss_facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fkeck.usc.edu%2Fnews%2Funcovering-answers-to-alzheimers-disease%2F\" title=\"Facebook\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" 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2.79c.75.747 1.12 1.66 1.12 2.737 0 1.105-.392 2.045-1.183 2.817l1.186 1.186c.774-.79 1.708-1.186 2.805-1.186 1.078 0 1.995.377 2.75 1.132l2.804 2.804c.754.755 1.13 1.672 1.13 2.75z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"heateorSssClear\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        \n  <\/div>\n\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n        <figure>\n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2026\/05\/Pattiz1-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2026\/05\/Pattiz1-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2026\/05\/Pattiz1-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2026\/05\/Pattiz1-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n        alt=\"Photo shows from left to right: Hussein Yassine, MD; Karen Kerrigan; Anne Hiniker, MD, PhD; Larry Freeman; Helena Chui, MD\"\n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n          <figcaption><p>From left to right: Hussein Yassine, MD; Karen Kerrigan; Anne Hiniker, MD, PhD; Larry Freeman; Helena Chui, MD. Photo: USC<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n    <\/figure>\n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text white\"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n        \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>An interdisciplinary team at the USC Center for Personalized Brain Health (CPBH) is targeting a family of enzymes that can increase the risk of inflammation in the brains of people with the APOE4 gene variation\u2014the most significant genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer\u2019s\u2014as a way to prevent the disease.<\/p>\n<p>By activating or inhibiting the enzymes, the scientists, led by CPBH director Hussein Yassine, MD, have succeeded in identifying a promising pathway to turn off brain inflammation before it does its damage.<\/p>\n<p>Now joining the fight is the Norman and Mary Pattiz Foundation, with a $3 million gift to the Keck School of Medicine of USC that will support promising research, including novel drug discovery and other efforts aimed at early detection and prevention of Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n<h4>The Future in Motion<\/h4>\n<p>The newly created Norman and Mary Pattiz Alzheimer\u2019s Research Fund will provide pilot funding and accelerate priority projects of the USC Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Research Center (ADRC). In addition to drug targeting, that includes imaging modality development, and the use of artificial intelligence to pinpoint small molecules involved in brain inflammation, the fund will also support efforts to modernize the center\u2019s brain pathology library and look at brain inflammation markers in patients with Alzheimer&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>Also made possible by the funding will be a plan to create a registry for early detection of individuals at high risk for neuro-inflammation based on the APOE4 genetic variant and cardiovascular risk factors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are extremely grateful to the Norman and Mary Pattiz Foundation for having the foresight to support research that is breaking new ground,\u201d said Helena Chang Chui, MD, director of the ADRC and the Raymond and Betty McCarron Professor of Neurology.<br \/>\n\u201cThat willingness to explore bold hypotheses is what has helped us to make headway in neurodegenerative diseases over the last several years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorman and Mary Pattiz were trailblazers in their respective careers, and we hope to honor their legacy by carrying that same spirit of innovation and determination into the fight against Alzheimer\u2019s disease,\u201d said Karen Kerrigan, Pattiz Foundation Board President and Norman Pattiz\u2019s former business manager.<\/p>\n<p>Other members of the Foundation Board are three long-time friends and colleagues of Norman Pattiz\u2014Larry Freeman, Paul Krasnow, and Jeff Hershberg. \u201cEach of our Board members has had personal experience with a loved one being impacted by Alzheimer\u2019s disease,\u201d said Freeman, a longtime USC supporter. \u201cWe feel certain Norman and Mary would be excited about the potential impact this gift can have in the quest for solutions to this devastating disease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Norman and Mary Pattiz Alzheimer\u2019s Research Fund will recruit APOE4 carriers through USC ARDC\u2019s GeneScreen, an Alzheimer\u2019s prevention registry focused on identifying genetic risk, and CPBH SPARK, a registry focused on understanding how lifestyle and health influences brain aging and the risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<h4>Searching for Clues<\/h4>\n<p>The Foundation support also establishes the Norman and Mary Pattiz Foundation Endowed Associate Professorship in Neuropathology, which extends the critical work of neuropathology within the ADRC research endeavors.<\/p>\n<p>The inaugural holder is Anne Hiniker, MD, PhD, director of the USC ADRC Neuropathology Core, where researchers look for signs of disease and disease progression and how changes in the brain may relate to protein accumulations found in Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<p>The Pattiz Foundation funding will provide Dr. Hiniker with protected research time to speed the capture of inflammation markers or signposts in the more than 1,100 brain tissue samples in the USC ADRC Neuropathology Core.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am honored to serve as the inaugural Pattiz Endowed Associate Professor. We hope to do justice to the legacy of Norman and Mary Pattiz with ambitious work designed to set the stage for new therapies for Alzheimer\u2019s disease,\u201d said Dr. Hiniker.<\/p>\n<h4>Two Creative Donors<\/h4>\n<p>An American broadcasting entrepreneur, Norman Pattiz founded Westwood One, a radio syndication company, in 1976. It became the nation\u2019s largest radio network and a major global media company\u2014leading to Pattiz\u2019s induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n<p>Norman Pattiz supported causes he cared deeply about, such as communications, education, and sciences. He served on the Board of Regents of the University of California, as well as the boards of USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors of the United States of America.<\/p>\n<p>Mary Turner Pattiz had her own impressive career as the silky on-air voice of the 1970s and \u201980s rock \u2018n\u2019 roll era who was known on air as \u201cThe Burner, Mary Turner\u201d. As a popular disc jockey, she was credited as part of the soundtrack of that era\u2019s music and was often hailed as the \u201cFirst Lady of Rock Radio\u201d in Los Angeles. In 2023, Mary received a Legends induction into the Radio Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n<p>She left her career in radio to earn her PhD in clinical psychology and became a certified substance abuse counselor. In 2010, she was elected chair of the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California. She was the first non-Ford family member to chair the Center and later oversaw its merger with the Hazelden Foundation in 2013. She remained a Board member of the newly formed Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation for several more years.<\/p>\n<p>Norman and Mary Pattiz passed away in 2022 and 2023, respectively, leaving in place a Board of Directors they entrusted to nurture causes that have meaning in people\u2019s lives. The Board previously funded an endowed chair in ovarian cancer research at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Its latest gift solidifies a significant imprint for the foundation\u2019s legacy within the Keck Medicine of USC ecosystem.<\/p>\n<h4>Focusing on Brain Health<\/h4>\n<p>The APOE gene is a risk factor but not a guarantee of developing Alzheimer\u2019s disease. In one CPBH study of differences in APOE4 carriers, <a href=\"https:\/\/today.usc.edu\/usc-scientists-identify-promising-new-target-for-alzheimers-linked-brain-inflammation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Yassine\u2019s team found<\/a> that people with elevated levels of the enzyme \u201ccalcium-dependent phospholipase A2\u201d or cPLA2 developed dementia.<\/p>\n<p>With his collaborators, Dr. Yassine then identified possible drug therapies to selectively target cPLA2, while protecting normal cellular function from adverse effects.<\/p>\n<p>The team wants to expand on that important discovery to find other targets that also trigger neuroinflammation, with potential for developing new drugs for Alzheimer&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur goal is to determine whether these possible targets and treatment pathways are safe, feasible, and ultimately meaningful for human disease,\u201d said Dr. Yassine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThanks to the generosity of the Norman and Mary Pattiz Foundation, we have a better chance of pursuing these critical questions,\u201d he added, \u201cand finding the answers that can lead us forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":10263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[489,140,633],"class_list":["post-10262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-news","tag-alzheimers-disease","tag-impact-stories","tag-usc-center-for-personalized-brain-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - 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