Alzheimer's Disease Center
University of California, Davis
The Family Connection
Winter 2000
Welcome Dr. Charles DeCarli
Dr. Charles DeCarli is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of California at Davis and the Associate Director of the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center. After completing medical training at George Washington University, Dr. DeCarli received his neurology residency at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York. He then joined the National Institutes of Health, where he established his research in the Laboratory of Neurosciences.
Dr. DeCarli’s research at NIH focused on understanding the relationship between brain structure and function in aging and Alzheimer’s disease.He gained extensive expertise in the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission topography (PET). He also developed QUANTA, a software program that quantifies changes in brain morphology associated with normal aging and dementing illnesses.
In 1996, Dr. DeCarli joined the faculty at Kansas University where he directed the Alzheimer’s Disease Center, taught residents and medical students, and directed the KUMC Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Clinic. He led an active dementia research program that encompassed both basic science and clinical investigations.
In 2000, Dr. DeCarli joined the faculty at the University of California at Davis where he is the Associate Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Center and Co-Director of the Imaging in Dementia and Aging (IDeA) Laboratory. He works closely with Dr. William Jagust, the Director, Dr. Bruce Reed and Dr. Dan Mungas to understand the various factors that influence the presentation and progression of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Widely recognized for his expertise in neuroimaging, Dr. DeCarli has received multiple grants to investigate MRI and genetic precursors of dementia as well as cardiovascular risk factors associated with dementia and stroke. He serves on NIH scientific review committees and frequently presents his research at national and international conferences on Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and neuroimaging.