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Alzheimer disease is the most common cause for dementia worldwide, affecting tens of millions, with profound social and economic impacts on both patients and their families.
We are working hard to better understand the underlying causes of this disease, in order to develop effective treatments.
Every donation makes a difference!
Empowering Research Through Your Generosity
If you're ready to make a donation, you can do it through the Friends of Bar Ilan University Associations. To designate your donation to our research, please select "Purpose of the donation” and enter: "Groundbreaking Research - Okun Lab".
Please keep us informed about your donation by sending us an email, or leave your info in this contact form.
From Generosity to Discovery: The Impact of Your Support
The Okun Lab is advancing groundbreaking research at the intersection of neuro-immunology, aging, and neurodegenerative disease. By uncovering how immune mechanisms, biological sex, and life events such as pregnancy shape long-term brain health, our work addresses fundamental questions underlying Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions. Your support directly fuels innovative experiments, cutting-edge technologies, and the next generation of scientists, transforming bold ideas into discoveries with real potential to change lives.
Our current and future projects
We aim to uncover how biological sex, pregnancy history, and maternal-fetal immune interactions shape long-term brain health and Alzheimer’s disease risk. Our research focuses on identifying mechanisms that may explain why women are disproportionately affected by the disease.
We investigate how immune cells and tertiary lymphoid structures in the meninges regulate brain function in aging and neurodegeneration. By characterizing meningeal immune-brain crosstalk, we seek to determine how peripheral immunity influences cognition and Alzheimer’s pathology.
Our work examines how B cells, T cells, and antigen-driven immune responses contribute to either protection or pathology in Alzheimer’s disease. We aim to define the mechanisms through which adaptive immunity shapes brain pathology and cognitive outcomes.
We are aiming to develop immune-targeted therapeutic strategies to prevent or delay Alzheimer’s cognitive decline in individuals with Down syndrome. By leveraging insights into trisomy 21, associated immune dysregulation, we aim to design interventions that restore immune balance and improve long-term brain function.