Mark J Alberts, MD

Professor of Neurology
Feinberg School of Medicine

Director, Stroke Program
Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Research Interests:
The purpose of Mark Alberts’ laboratory-based research is to identify genes, genetic susceptibility factors, and genetic mechanisms that cause strokes. The long-term goal is to develop genetic tests for the presymptomatic screening of at-risk individuals, as well as therapies that can be used to prevent or reduce the risk of a stroke occurring in susceptible individuals.

The focus of Dr. Alberts’ research has been on hemorrhagic stroke, particularly intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) due to cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to intracranial aneurysms. They have developed a transgenic mouse model of CAA with ICHs, and are using this model to better understand the pathophysiology of ICH in CAA as well as to explore potential therapies. For the SAH project, Dr. Alberts’ lab is ascertaining patients (and their family members) who have had a SAH, and is collecting DNA for candidate gene screening and (eventually) a whole genome screen using advanced genetic linkage techniques.