Keith Vossel, M.D., M.Sc.

Associate Professor, Department of Neurology

E-MAIL: [email protected]

Research Interests:

The Vossel lab investigates Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias in transgenic mouse models of AD as well as human clinical trials. We are studying mechanisms and novel therapies for epileptic activity in AD. The goal of the laboratory investigation to discover therapies that target novel aspects of the tau protein in the biology of AD. We are studying cell-signaling functions of tau that are distinct from its traditional role as a microtubule-binding protein. Clinical investigation focuses on silent seizures in AD and includes a phase 2a trial of an antiseizure drug to treat AD-associated network hyperexcitability.  As part of this study, we are developing biomarkers of network dysfunction in AD using overnight video-EEG and magnetoencephalography recordings.


Selected Publications:

(For a comprehensive list of recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.)

  • Vossel K, Ranasinghe KG, Beagle AJ, La A, Ah Pook K, Castro M, Mizuiri D, Honma SM, Venkateswaran N, Koestler M, Zhang W, Mucke L, Howell MJ, Possin KL, Kramer JH, Boxer AL, Miller BL, Nagarajan SS, Kirsch HE. Effect of levetiracetam on cognition in patients with Alzheimer disease with and without epileptiform activity: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Neurol. 2021 Sep 27:e213310.
  • Peters ST, Fahrenkopf A, Choquette JM, Vermilyea SC, Lee MK, Vossel K. Ablating Tau reduces hyperexcitability and moderates electroencephalographic slowing in transgenic mice expressing A53T human α-synuclein. Front Neurol. 2020 Jun 19;11:563.
  • Ranasinghe KG, Cha J, Iaccarino L, Hinkley LB, Beagle AJ, Pham J, Jagust WJ, Miller BL, Rankin KP, Rabinovici GD, Vossel KA, Nagarajan SS. Neurophysiological signatures in Alzheimer's disease are distinctly associated with TAU, amyloid-β accumulation, and cognitive decline. Sci Transl Med. 2020 Mar 11;12(534).
  • Zeman A, Byruck M, Tallis P, Vossel K, Tranel D. Touching the void - first and third person perspectives in two cases of autobiographical amnesia linked to epilepsy. Neuropsychologia. 2018;110:55-64.
  • Vossel KA, Tartaglia MC, Nygaard HB, Zeman AZ, Miller BL. Epileptic activity in Alzheimer’s disease: causes and clinical relevance. Lancet Neurol. 2017;16(4):311-322
  • Beagle AJ, Darwish SM, Ranasinghe KG, La AL,Karageorgiou E, Vossel KA. Relative incidence of seizures and myoclonus in Alzheimer’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia. J Alzheimers Dis. 2017;60(1):211-223.
  • Miyamoto T, Stein L, Taneja P, Djukic B, Knox J, Vossel K, Mucke L. Phosphorylation of tau at Y18, but not tau-Fyn binding, is required for tau to modulate NMDA receptor-dependent excitotoxicity in primary neuronal culture. Mol Neurodegener. 2017 May 19;12(1):41.
  • Karageorgiou E and Vossel KA. Brain rhythm attractor breakdown in Alzheimer’s disease: functional and pathological implications. Alzheimers Dement. 2017;13(9):1054-1067.
  • Perry DC, Brown JA, Possin KL, Datta S, Trujillo A, Radke A, Karydas A, Kornak J, Sias AC, Rabinovici GD, Gorno-Tempini ML, Boxer AL, De May M, Rankin KP, Sturm VE, Lee SE, Matthews BR, Kao AW, Vossel KA, et al. Clinicopathological correlations in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. Brain. 2017;140:3329-3345.
  • Vossel KA, Tartaglia MC, Nygaard HB, Zeman AZ, Miller BL. Epileptic activity in Alzheimer's disease: causes and clinical relevance.Lancet Neurol. 2017;16(4):311-322.
  • Karageorgiou E, Vossel KA. Brain rhythm attractor breakdown in Alzheimer's disease: Functional and pathologic implications.Alzheimers Dement. 2017;13(9):1054-1067.
  • Ranasinghe KG, Hinkley LB, Beagle AJ, Mizuiri D, Honma SM, Welch AE, Hubbard I, Mandelli ML, Miller ZA, Garrett C, La A, Boxer AL, Houde JF, Miller BL, Vossel KA, Gorno-Tempini ML, Nagarajan SS. Distinct spatiotemporal patterns of neuronal functional connectivity in primary progressive aphasia variants. Brain. 2017;140(10):2737-2751.
  • Ranasinghe KG, Gill JS, Kothare H, Beagle AJ, Mizuiri D, Honma SM, Gorno-Tempini ML, Miller BL, Vossel KA, Houde JF, Nagarajan SS. Abnormal vocal behavior predicts executive and memory deficits in Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiol Aging. 2017;52:71-80.
  • Vossel KA, Ranasinghe KG, Beagle AJ, Mizuiri D, Honma SM, Dowling AF, Darwish SM, Barnes DE, Mantle M, Roberson ED, Miller BL, Garcia PA, Kirsch HE, Mucke L, Nagarajan SS. Incidence and impact of subclinical epileptiform activity in Alzheimer’s disease. Ann Neurol. 2016;80(6):858-870.
  • Ranasinghe KG, Rankin KP, Pressman PS, Perry DC, Lobach IV, Seeley WW, Coppola G, Karydas AM, Grinberg LT, Shany-Ur T, Lee SE, Rabinovici GD, Rosen HJ, Gorno-Tempini ML, Boxer AL, Miller ZA, Chiong W, DeMay M, Kramer JH, Possin KL, Sturm VE, Bettcher BM, Neylan M, Zackey DD, Nguyen LA, Ketelle R, Block N, Wu TQ, Dallich A, Russek N, Caplan A, Geschwind DH, Vossel KA, Miller BL. Distinct subtypes of behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia based on patterns of network degeneration. JAMA Neurology 2016;73(9):1078-1088.
  • Ranasinghe KG, Rankin KP, Lobach IV, Kramer  JH, Sturm VE, Bettcher BM, Possin K, You SC, Lamarre AK, Shany-Ur T, Stephens ML, Perry DC, Lee SE, Miller ZA, Gorno-Tempini ML, Rosen HJ, Boxer A, Seeley WW, Rabinovici GD, Vossel KA, Miller BL. Cognition and neuropsychiatry in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia by disease stage. Neurology 2016;86(7):600-10.
  • Ossenkoppele R,  Schonhaut DR, Schöll M, Lockhart SN, Ayakta N, Lazaris A, Cantwell A, Vogel J, Baker SL, O’Neil JP, Janabi M, Santos M, Miller ZA, Bettcher BM, Vossel KA, Kramer JH, Gorno-Tempini ML, Miller BL, Jagust WJ, Rabinovici GD. Tau PET patterns mirror clinical and neuroanatomical variability in Alzheimer’s disease. Brain 2016;139(5):1551-1567.
  • Vossel KA, Xu JC, Fomenko V, Miyamoto T, Suberbielle E, Knox JA, Ho K, Yu G, Mucke L. Tau reduction prevents Aβ-induced axonal transport deficits by blocking activation of GSK3β. J Cell Biol. 2015;209(3):419-33.
  • Morris M, Sanchez PE, Verret L, Beagle AJ, Guo W, Dubal D, Ranasinghe KG, Koyama A, Vossel KA, Mucke L. Neural network dysfunction in α-synuclein transgenic mice and human Lewy body dementia. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2015;2(11):1012-28.
  • Ranasinghe KG, Hinkley LB, Beagle AJ, Mizuiri D, Dowling AF, Honma SM, Finucane MM, Scherling C, Miller BL, Nagarajan SS, Vossel KA. Regional functional connectivity predicts distinct cognitive impairments in Alzheimer's disease spectrum. Neuroimage Clin. 2014;5:385-95.
Picture of Keith Vossel