Faculty

Research in Dr. Rizzo’s lab focuses on investigating the mechanisms that drive divergence from healthy aging towards inception and progression of Alzheimer’s disease, in order to identify novel pathways and targets that may enable the discovery of new therapeutic agents to treat and prevent disease. Dr. Rizzo is a behavior pharmacologist by training and holds a BS in Animal Sciences from Rutgers University and a PhD in Neuroscience from University College London.

He is interested in the use of observational data analysis for causal inference, as well as in the measurement and inclusion of patient preferences into treatment decisions and the use of electronic health records for research. 

Vascular development, hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, zebrafish, BMP signaling, mechanotransduction.

Brain adaptation, neuroepidemiological approaches to the causes, biomarkers and consequences of brain aging, advanced data reduction analyses

Understanding the functional organization of spinal microcircuits using molecular genetic, electrophysiological, optogenetic & behavioral approaches   

Research focuses on investigating neuron-glia communication in the normal hearing and in the hearing impaired