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Research and Clinical Interests

The laboratory of Dr. Wisniewski has focused on three main areas: 1) The pathogenesis and treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. 2) Treatment approaches for the prion diseases. 3) Development of novel imaging methodologies for brain amyloid deposits. This work has lead to more than 160 publications.

Selected Publications

Webb S, Lekishvili T, Loeschner C, Sellarajah S, Prelli F, Wisniewski T, Gilbert IH, Brown DR. Mechanistic insights into the cure of prion disease by novel antiprion compounds. J Virol. 2007 Oct;81(19):10729–41. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17652397.

Li Q, Min J, Ahn YH, Namm J, Kim EM, Lui R, Kim HY, Ji Y, Wu H, Wisniewski T, Chang YT. Styryl-based compounds as potential in vivo imaging agents for beta-amyloid plaques. Chembiochem. 2007 Sep 24;8(14):1679–87. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17705341.

Litterst C, Georgakopoulos A, Shioi J, Ghersi E, Wisniewski T, Wang R, Ludwig A, Robakis NK. Ligand binding and calcium influx induce distinct ectodomain/gamma-secretase-processing pathways of EphB2 receptor. J Biol Chem. 2007 Jun 1;282(22):16155–63. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17428795.

Spinner DS, Kascsak RB, Lafauci G, Meeker HC, Ye X, Flory MJ, Kim JI, Schuller-Levis GB, Levis WR, Wisniewski T, Carp RI, Kascsak RJ. CpG oligodeoxynucleotide-enhanced humoral immune response and production of antibodies to prion protein PrPSc in mice immunized with 139A scrapie-associated fibrils. J Leukoc Biol. 2007 Jun;81(6):1374–85. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17379700.

Sigurdsson EM, Wadghiri YZ, Mosconi L, Blind JA, Knudsen E, Asuni A, Scholtzova H, Tsui WH, Li Y, Sadowski M, Turnbull DH, de Leon MJ, Wisniewski T. A non-toxic ligand for voxel-based MRI analysis of plaques in AD transgenic mice. Neurobiol Aging. 2007 Feb;Epub 2007 Feb 7. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17291630.

Chang B, Cheng X, Yin S, Pan T, Zhang H, Wong P, Kang SC, Xiao F, Yan H, Li C, Wolfe LL, Miller MW, Wisniewski T, Greene MI, Sy MS. Test for detection of disease-associated prion aggregate in the blood of infected but asymptomatic animals. Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2007 Jan;14(1):36–43. Epub 2006 Nov 1. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17079434.

Sadowski MJ, Pankiewicz J, Scholtzova H, Mehta PD, Prelli F, Quartermain D, Wisniewski T. Blocking the apolipoprotein E/amyloid-beta interaction as a potential therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Dec 5;103(49):18787–92. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17116874.

Asuni AA, Boutajangout A, Scholtzova H, Knudsen E, Li YS, Quartermain D, Frangione B, Wisniewski T, Sigurdsson EM. Vaccination of Alzheimer's model mice with Abeta derivative in alum adjuvant reduces Abeta burden without microhemorrhages. Eur J Neurosci. 2006 Nov;24(9):2530–42. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17100841.

Pankiewicz J, Prelli F, Sy MS, Kascsak RJ, Kascsak RB, Spinner DS, Carp RI, Meeker HC, Sadowski M, Wisniewski T. Clearance and prevention of prion infection in cell culture by anti-PrP antibodies. Eur J Neurosci. 2006 May;23(10):2635–47. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 16817866.

Pan T, Chang B, Wong P, Li C, Li R, Kang SC, Robinson JD, Thompsett AR, Tein P, Yin S, Barnard G, McConnell I, Brown DR, Wisniewski T, Sy MS. Epitope scanning reveals gain and loss of strain specific antibody binding epitopes associated with the conversion of normal cellular prion to scrapie prion. J Virol. 2005 Oct;79(19):12355–64. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 16160162.

Pan T, Wong P, Chang B, Li C, Li R, Kang SC, Wisniewski T, Sy MS. Biochemical fingerprints of prion infection: accumulations of aberrant full-length and N-terminally truncated PrP species are common features in mouse prion disease. J Virol. 2005 Jan;79(2):934–43. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 15613322.

Pan T, Li R, Kang SC, Wong BS, Wisniewski T, Sy MS. Epitope scanning reveals gain and loss of strain specific antibody binding epitopes associated with the conversion of normal cellular prion to scrapie prion. J Neurochem. 2004 Sep;90(5):1205–17. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 15312175.

Sadowski M, Pankiewicz J, Scholtzova H, Ripellino JA, Li Y, Schmidt SD, Mathews PM, Fryer JD, Holtzman DM, Sigurdsson EM, Wisniewski T. A synthetic peptide blocking the apolipoprotein E/beta-amyloid binding mitigates beta-amyloid toxicity and fibril formation in vitro and reduces beta-amyloid plaques in transgenic mice. Am J Pathol. 2004 Sep;165(3):937–48. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 15331417.

Sadowski M, Pankiewicz J, Scholtzova H, Tsai J, Li Y, Carp RI, Meeker HC, Gambetti P, Debnath M, Mathis CA, Shao L, Gan WB, Klunk WE, Wisniewski T. Targeting prion amyloid deposits in vivo. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2004 Jul;63(7):775–84. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 15290902.

Selected Reviews

Ghiso J, Wisniewski T. An animal model of vascular amyloidosis. Nat Neurosci. 2004 Sep;7(9):902–4. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 15332087.

Sadowski M, Wisniewski T. Disease modifying approaches for Alzheimer's pathology. Curr Pharm Des. 2007;13(19):1943–54. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17627527.

Wisniewski T, Frangione B. Immunological and anti-chaperone therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer disease. Brain Pathol. 2005 Jan;15(1):72–7. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 15779239.

Wisniewski T, Chabalgoity JA, Goni F. Is vaccination against transmissible spongiform encephalopathy feasible? Rev Sci Tech. 2007 Apr;26(1):243–51. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17633306.

Wadghiri YZ, Sigurdsson EM, Wisniewski T, Turnbull DH. Magnetic resonance imaging of amyloid plaques in transgenic mice. Methods Mol Biol. 2005;299:365–79. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 15980617.

Sigurdsson EM, Wisniewski T. Promising developments in prion immunotherapy. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2005 Oct;4(5):607–10. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 16221061.

Wisniewski T, Sigurdsson EM. Therapeutic approaches for prion and Alzheimer's diseases. FEBS J. 2007;274(15):3784–98. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17617224.

Sassoon J, Sadowski M, Wisniewski T, Brown DR. Therapeutics and prion disease: can immunisation or drugs be effective? Mini Rev Med Chem. 2005 Apr;5(4):361–6. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 15853626.

Sadowski M, Wisniewski T. Vaccines for conformational disorders. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2004 Jun;3(3):279–90. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 15176944.

Organizational Associations

1982– British Medical Association; 1984– American Medical Association; 1987– American Academy of Neurology; 1989– American Association of Neuropathology; 1996– Society for Neuroscience; 1997– The Harvey Society

Selected Awards

1989 American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology: Certification in Neurology
1990 American Board of Pathology: Certification in Neuropathology
1999 Zenith Award, Alzheimer's Disease Association
2002 Alzheimer's Disease Award, Journal of Alzheimer's Disease

Hospital Affiliations

Tisch Hospital
Bellevue Hospital

Additional Information

Detailed CV: Wisniewski_Thomas_CV_20071127.pdf
Research Profile

© 2008 NYU Department of Pathology