Pfalzer, Anna, Department of Neurology

Anna Pfalzer, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor of Neurology
anna.c.pfalzer@vumc.org

Dr. Pfalzer’s current work focuses on understanding the earliest molecular and cognitive changes in Huntington disease (HD) in a cohort of youth (7-18 years of age) at-risk for HD. Her lab’s overall goal is to examine the intersection between neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration in this novel cohort. To do so, they are conducting a battery of validated neurodevelopmental, psychiatric and motor assessments in youth. Dr. Pfalzer has recently started a blood biorepository in these youth to quantify known as well as novel biomarkers of disease. Her lab aims to conduct a proteomic screen of plasma samples of HD+ youth compared to HD- youth. To do this work, they developed a protocol to conduct triple-blinded genetic testing in these minors which will also allow us to transition this cross-sectional study into a longitudinal cohort examining the effects of mutant Huntingtin in adolescents.