William T. Hu, MD, PhD, FAAN

Associate Professor and Chief of Cognitive Neurology Rutgers-RWJ Medical School

Dr. Hu is also a physician-scientist who has made significant contributions to the field of dementia research. While still a neurology resident, he was the first to identify the brain region in Alzheimer’s disease where a pathology more commonly seen in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), TDP-43, first appeared. The staging scheme he proposed remains in use across neuropathologic laboratories. After beginning his own research laboratory in 2020, he was the first to develop a reliable diagnostic test for FTD due to TDP-43 which has been replicated by four other groups; show that Black/African Americans have different cerebrospinal fluid profiles of Alzheimer’s disease and inflammation than White Americans, a finding which has significant implication in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in Black/African Americans; and identify important methods to better understand the intersection between brain dysfunction and inflammation across multiple diseases.