University of Rhode Island · PharmacologyVision for Alzheimer’s Lab
Jessica Alber · Kingston, Rhode Island
Research Focus
Dr. Jessica Alber's lab focuses on improving early detection methods for Alzheimer's disease using retinal imaging. The research aims to validate non-invasive, cost-effective biomarkers found in the retina that indicate the early stages of Alzheimer's, potentially enabling timely interventions. By combining retinal imaging with advanced brain scans and blood tests, the lab seeks to develop algorithms for population-wide screening that can identify individuals at risk before symptoms appear.
Alzheimer's diseaseretinal biomarkersbrain imagingMRIPET scansplasma biomarkersneurodegenerationearly diagnosisscreening algorithms
Research Aims
4AIM 01Identify retinal biomarker differences between preclinical Alzheimer's participants and cognitively unimpaired older adults.
AIM 02Validate candidate retinal biomarkers against cerebral biomarkers using advanced imaging.
AIM 03Determine the longitudinal relationship between retinal and brain imaging biomarkers over three years.
AIM 04Assess the sensitivity and specificity of retinal and plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's detection.
Skills the Lab Values
retinal imagingMRI techniquesPET imagingblood plasma analysiscognitive assessmentdata collectionstatistical analysislongitudinal study designophthalmological techniques
Output against the department
Publications67bottom 13% of dept.399th of 462
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.0kbottom 13% of dept.404th of 462
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.