The frontal and temporal lobes of the brain degenerate to cause severely debilitating disease in a group of disorders called frontotemporal dementias. These diseases are both clinically and pathologically heterogeneous and although genetic causes have been identified in some rare familial cases, the causes and pathogenesis of these diseases remain largely unknown. Nigel Cairns is interested in clarifying the pathological changes in the brains of these patients who come to autopsy and the mechanisms by which nerve cells die and cause dementia. His multidisciplinary approach uses histological, biochemical, and cell biological experiments to determine the role of candidate pathological proteins in frontotemporal dementias. These experiments will throw new light on the pathogenesis of this enigmatic group of diseases and generate novel avenues for therapeutic intervention.

Medical Training

A native of the United Kingdom, Nigel Cairns received his BA from London University and BSc from the University of Bristol. He obtained a PhD in 1995 in experimental neuropathology while working on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, University of London. In 1998, he became a member of the Royal College of Pathologists of the United Kingdom. In 2002, the American Association of Neuropathologists gave him the Moore Award. Between 2003 and 2004, he worked at the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania. Nigel joined Washington University School of Medicine in 2004 as Research Associate Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Pathology & Immunology and Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Neuropathology Core and Betty Martz Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Research.