News

We are delighted to announce that Victor Villemagne, MD, has received conferral of tenure at the rank of professor by the University of Pittsburgh.

Among the most highly regarded experts in Alzheimer's disease biomarkers worldwide, Dr. Villemagne is extremely accomplished in in-vivo imaging of brain pathology in aging and neurodegenerative disorders. He specializes in using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and biofluids to develop and evaluate disease-specific biomarkers. Among Dr. Villemagne’s achievements in this area, he has established that the process of amyloid-β accumulation in the brain can be detected by PET imaging 15-20 years before the onset of dementia. Recently, Dr. Villemagne has been instrumental in the validation of novel blood biomarkers for the prediction of amyloid-β burden in the brain, as well as their predictive power for cognitive trajectories. In addition, he developed the first universal mask and scale for tau imaging studies that enables harmonization of the six most commonly used tau tracers, to be displayed under the same universal scale. 

Dr. Villemagne is a member of a multiple principal investigator (MPI) team leading the National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded Program Project Grant (PPG) focused on the role of astrogliosis in aging and the pathological and clinical progression of Alzheimer's disease. He leads Project 1, testing the hypothesis that astrogliosis augments the effects of amyloid-β and tau pathology, as well as the effects of cardiovascular disease on neurodegeneration and cognition. Dr. Villemagne is additionally MPI of a longitudinal NIA study on the natural progression of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, with the goal of improving our understanding of the occurrence of asymptomatic amyloid-β and tau deposition, and the progression to clinical cognitive impairment. He is PI of a study focused on brain imaging and Alzheimer’s disease that is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; Australia), as well as co-investigator on numerous additional studies. Dr. Villemagne has published his research in influential journals including Lancet Neurology, JAMA Neurology, and Biological Psychiatry, among numerous others.

Dr. Villemagne is a past recipient of the Aging Mind Foundation Award, was named an Aging Mind Foundation Fellow. His research on amyloid-β accumulation was awarded the Alzheimer’s Association’s de Leon Prize in Neuroimaging, and he has additionally presented the Marie Curie Lecture (European Association of Nuclear Medicine), and received the Kuhl-Lassen Award for Outstanding Contribution to Brain Imaging from the Society of Nuclear Medicine. Dr. Villemagne has been named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher annually since 2016. He has served as the president of the brain imaging council of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, and chair of the steering committee neuroimaging professional interest area for the International Society to Advance Alzheimer Research and Treatment of the Alzheimer’s Association. Dr. Villemagne additionally serves as a consultant with a dozen leading pharmaceutical companies.

A superb educator, Dr. Villemagne has mentored MD and PhD students, research staff, and postdoctoral fellows, and many of his trainees have embarked upon successful academic and scientific careers, establishing NIH-funded labs and publishing their own research in high-impact journals.

“Dr. Villemagne one of the top scientists working in Alzheimer’s research nationally and internationally—as evidenced by his numerous seminal findings in the field of in vivo imaging of brain pathology in neurodegenerative disease, his prolific and highly cited publications, and vast collaborative network,” said David Lewis, MD (Chair, Department of Psychiatry). “His has made invaluable contributions to our academic community, particularly in training the next generation of scientists in this field.”

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Villemagne!