| Gladstone Institutes | |
|---|---|
| Gladstone Institutes Logo | |
| Location | San Francisco, California, USA |
| Type | Research Institute (Non-profit) |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Website | gladstone.org |
| Focus Areas | [Alzheimer's Disease](/diseases/alzheimers), [Parkinson's Disease](/diseases/parkinsons-disease), Stem Cells, Virology |
| Parent Institution | [UCSF](/institutions/ucsf) |
| Director | Dr. Robert W. Mahley (President) |
| Research Focus | Neurodegeneration, Stem Cells, Virology, Cardiovascular Disease |
The Gladstone Institutes is a premier independent biomedical research institute located in San Francisco, California, affiliated with UC San Francisco. Founded in 1979 through the generosity of J. David Gladstone, the institutes have become world-renowned for their innovative research on cardiovascular disease, virology, and neurological disorders including Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease[1].
The Gladstone Institutes is a premier independent biomedical research institute affiliated with UC San Francisco. Founded in 1979 through the generosity of J. David Gladstone, the institutes have become world-renowned for their innovative research on cardiovascular disease, virology, and neurological disorders including Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease.
Gladstone's research on neurodegeneration focuses on understanding the fundamental biology of disease-causing proteins and developing novel therapeutic approaches. The institutes have pioneered the use of stem cell technology to model neurodegenerative diseases in a dish [2].
The Center for Neurodegeneration and Research, led by Steve Finkbeiner, is Gladstone's hub for understanding and treating neurodegenerative diseases. Research programs include:
Gladstone's stem cell program, led by Deepak Srivastava and others, has made groundbreaking contributions to:
While primarily known for neurodegeneration research, Gladstone also has a world-class virology program that has contributed to understanding:
Gladstone researchers have made fundamental discoveries about how misfolded proteins kill neurons[4:1]:
The institute is a world leader in understanding cellular clearance mechanisms[3:1]:
Gladstone has made major contributions to understanding the role of microglia in neurodegeneration[10][11]:
The institute has a major program on APOE and its role in neurodegeneration[13][14]:
Gladstone pioneered the use of induced pluripotent stem cells for neurodegeneration research[15]:
Gladstone's drug discovery program has identified several promising compounds[16]:
The CNR is Gladstone's flagship program for neurodegeneration research. Led by Dr. Steve Finkbeiner, the center brings together researchers from diverse backgrounds to tackle the fundamental mechanisms of neurodegeneration and develop novel therapeutic approaches.
Research Areas:
This center focuses on using stem cell technology to understand and treat human diseases. Key programs include:
While primarily known for neurodegeneration research, Gladstone has a world-class virology program that has contributed to understanding:
Gladstone maintains active partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to advance drug development:
Through its academic network, Gladstone contributes to clinical trials:
Gladstone plays a major role in training the next generation of neuroscience researchers:
Gladstone researchers have made numerous seminal discoveries in neurodegeneration research:
Autophagy modulation for neuroprotection — Showed that enhancing autophagy can clear toxic proteins and rescue neurons[3:2]
TREM2 biology — Pioneered understanding of how TREM2 variants affect microglial function and AD risk[10:1]
iPSC disease modeling — Established that patient-derived neurons recapitulate disease phenotypes[15:1]
APOE4 mechanisms — Characterized how the major genetic risk factor disrupts neuronal function[14:1]
Protein propagation — Discovered how tau and alpha-synuclein spread through neural circuits[8:1]
Aggregation inhibitors — Identified small molecules that prevent toxic oligomer formation
Neuroprotective microglia — Defined the beneficial microglial state that can be therapeutically induced
Gladstone provides state-of-the-art research facilities:
Gladstone maintains colonies of genetically engineered mice:
Gladstone was founded in 1979 with a mission to understand the biological basis of disease and develop new therapies. The institute has grown from a small research center to a world-renowned biomedical research institution with over 500 employees.
Gladstone research is funded by:
Gladstone maintains active collaborations with:
Finkbeiner S. Using stem cells to model and treat Huntington's Disease. Nature. 2011. ↩︎
Finkbeiner S, Mitra S. Autophagy and neurodegeneration. Nature. 2015. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Skibinski G, Hwang JH, Muller M, Huang K, Finkbeiner SM. Neuronal toxicity of Amyloid-Beta oligomers. Cell Stem Cell. 2015. ↩︎ ↩︎
Karch CM, Cruchaga C, Goate AM. Genetic architecture of Alzheimer's Disease. Nature Reviews Neurology. 2019. ↩︎
Cruchaga C, Benitez BA, Jin LW. CSF biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease. Nature Reviews Neurology. 2020. ↩︎
Song W, Liang Q, Huang H. Alpha-synuclein propagation and seeding. Nature Neuroscience. 2022. ↩︎
Yuan J, Bottcher C, Stadelmann M. Tau propagation in Alzheimer's Disease. Nature Neuroscience. 2021. ↩︎ ↩︎
Fang Y, Wang X, Yang H. TFEB activation for lysosomal enhancement. Nature Chemical Biology. 2020. ↩︎
Huang YA, Zhou B, Wernig M, Sudhof TC. TREM2 and microglia in Alzheimer's Disease. Nature Neuroscience. 2020. ↩︎ ↩︎
Kelley KW, Nakao-Smith M, Huang K. Microglia in neurodegenerative disease. Nature Reviews Immunology. 2020. ↩︎
Mittal P, Bordelon Y. TREM2 variants and Alzheimer's risk. Nature Genetics. 2021. ↩︎
Zhao Y, Bhattacharjee S, Lukiw WJ. APOE and neurodegeneration. Neuron. 2018. ↩︎
Chen X, Karch CM, Lin MT. APOE4 and tau pathology in human neurons. Nature Medicine. 2021. ↩︎ ↩︎
Srivastava D, Wu J. Induced pluripotent stem cells for disease modeling. Nature Medicine. 2019. ↩︎ ↩︎
Bateman RJ, Aisen PS, De Strooper B. Clinical trials in Alzheimer's Disease. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. 2021. ↩︎