FULL BIO:
Elan's Chief Scientific Officer Dale Schenk, Ph.D., and other Elan scientists, have developed an approach to Alzheimer's disease that centers on landmark basic research revealing that a protein called beta amyloid accumulates in the brains of people with the disease. The process by which this protein is generated, aggregates, and is ultimately deposited in the brain as plaques is often referred to as the amyloid cascade. The formation of beta amyloid plaque is thought to play a key role in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. read more...
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Elan Corporation is a neuroscience-based biotechnology company
Though rigorous and original research, Elan aims to develop breakthrough medicines that alter the course of disease—and of people's lives.
An Inventor of the vaccination approach for the treatment of Alzheimer's Dale Schenk is the inventor of beta amyloid immunotherapy, which seeks to use the body's own immune system to rid the brain of the plaque that is the hallmark of Alzheimer's. His work in this area—as well as in early detection, testing, and other therapeutic pathways—has led to the most advanced potential treatment approaches for the disease.
SELF-EXAM
Occupation: Neuroscientist.
Alternative career choice: Pianist/songwriter.
I tend to approach life with a sense of: With a sense of humor.
My mentor is/was: Beethoven.
Biggest misconceptions about me or my work: That scientists are always serious. I love to look at the lighter side of life and have a good laugh.
Worst part-time job ever: Dishwasher.
Longest med school study session: Preparing for a basic medical neurology final.
Best moment in medicine/research: When Dora Games asked me to come down to the lab to show that A-beta vaccine worked in the animal model.
Worst moment in medicine/research: When the week-long purification experiment failed for the tenth time.
The title of the story of my life will be: Simple Ideas Sometimes Realized
"Rock Stars of Science," "Rock S.O.S," and "RSOS" are service marks of the Geoffrey Beene Foundation