Biography
Dr. Albala is an adjunct professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health with secondary appointments in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences as well as an appointment in the Department of Neurology, UCI School of Medicine.
Outside of UCI, Albala has a research appointment in the Research Service of the Veterans Administration Healthcare System at the Long Beach VA. Formerly an associate dean in the UCI School of Medicine of Innovation and Clinical Trials as well as an adjunct Professor in Neurology and a Director in the UCI Center for Clinical Research.
Prior to returning to academia in 2019, Albala spent 25+ years as a senior pharmaceutical executive with wide-ranging experience in Fortune 100, mid-size, and start-up companies. He has extensive international development experience as a member of European, Japanese and U.S. pharmaceutical companies. Management experience as well as consulting expertise includes both pre-clinical and clinical research and development in pharmaceuticals, biologicals, vaccines, and medical devices. Albala has initiated twenty plus clinical development programs in U.S. and Europe in neurology, psychiatry, obesity, gastroenterology, and infectious diseases. He oversaw all aspects of clinical development from Phases I – IV with hands on experience managing over three dozen studies with in-patient and outpatient clinics, Contract Research Organizations (CROs), and multinational pharmaceutical companies. Patent holder and author of two-dozen published scientific articles; invited speaker on research and clinical development issues.
Research Interests
Dr. Albala's research focuses on Alzheimer's disease, dementias, cognitive impairment, cognitive testing, clinical research, and trial design.
Current Projects/Studies
- Microbiome Targeted Oral Butyrate Therapy in Gulf War Multi-Symptom Illness (Co-investigator) – Veterans Adminisrator
- Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (Co-investigator) NIH-NIA
- Neuro-Next – NIH Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials (Co-investigator) – NIH NINDS
Education
- Visiting Post-Doc Fellow, National Institutes of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, 1984
- Advanced Biomedical Diploma, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1982
- PhD, Biopsychology in Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, 1979
- Graduate Courses, SUNY Upstate Medical Center, 1974 – 1976
- BS, Biology & Psychology (double major), Syracuse University, 1974
Publications
- Zhang, R.L., Zhang, C., Zhang, L., Roberts, C., Lu, M., Kapke, A., Cui, Y., Ninomiya, M., Nagafuji, T., Albala, B., Zhang, Z.G., and Chopp, M. Synergistic effect of an endothelin type A receptor antagonist, S-0139, with rtPA on the neuroprotection after embolic stroke. Stroke 39: 2830-2836, 2008.
- Lunnon, M.W., Wallace, S.M.L., Palmer, J.E., Francis-Lang, A., Laurijssens, B.E., Mistry, P., Albala, B., Nagafuji, T., Wilkinson, I.B., and Maltby, K. Prolonged pharmacodynamic effects of S-0139, an intravenously administered endothelin A (ETA) antagonist, in the human forearm blood flow model. Br J Clin Pharmacol : 69: 252-261, 2010.
- Vellas, B., Hampel, H., Rougé-Bugat, M.E., Grundman, M., Andrieu, S., Abu-Shakra, S., Bateman, R., Berman, R., Black, R., Carrillo, M., Donohue, M., Mintun, M., Morris, J., Petersen, R., Thomas, R.G., Suhy, J., Schneider, L., Seely, L., Tariot, P., Touchon, J., Weiner, M., Sampaio, C., Aisen, P.; Task Force Participants (Albala, B,J., et al.). Alzheimer’s disease therapeutic trials: EU/US Task Force report on recruitment, retention, and methodology. J Nutr Health Aging 16(4): 339-45, 2012.
- Ritchie, K., Ropacki, M., Albala, B.J., Harrison, J., Kaye, J., Kramer, J., Randolph, C., Ritchie, C.W. Recommended cognitive outcomes in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease: Consensus statement from the European Prevention of Alzheimer’s Dementia project. Alzheimers Dement 13(2):186-195, 2017.
- Mortamais, M., Ash, J.A., Harrison, J., Kaye, J., Kramer, J., Randolph, C., Pose, C., Albala, B.J., Ropacki, M., Ritchie, C.W., Ritchie, K. Detecting cognitive changes in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease: A review of its feasibility. Alzheimers Dement 13(4): 468-492, 2017.
- Hampel, H., Vassar, R., De Strooper, B., Hardy, J., Willem, M., Singh, N., Zhou, J., Yan, R., Vanmechelen, E., De Vos, A., Nisticò, R., Corbo, M., Imbimbo, B.P., Streffer, J., Voytyuk, I., Timmers, M., Tahami Monfared, A.A., Irizarry, M., Albala, B.J., Koyama, A., Watanabe, N., Kimura, T., Yarenis, L., Lista, S., Kramer, L., Vergallo, A. The ß-Secretase BACE1 in Alzheimer’s disease. Biol Psychiatry. 13: S0006-3223(20)30063-9, 2020.
