22184-Oblak, Adrian

Adrian L. Oblak, PhD

Associate Professor of Radiology & Imaging Sciences

Associate Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology

Director of Neurodegenerative Disorders, Stark Neurosciences Research Institute

Director of Research Initiatives, Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders, IU Health/IU School of Medicine Neuroscience Institute

Co-Director, Medical Neuroscience Graduate Program

Phone
(317) 274-0107
Address
NB 108C
SNRI
Indianapolis, IN
PubMed:

Bio

Adrian Oblak, PhD, is a neuroscientist and translational research leader dedicated to understanding the structural and immune-driven mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease. She joined the Indiana University School of Medicine in 2010 and now holds multiple leadership positions, reflecting her broad impact across research, education, and scientific strategy.

Dr. Oblak serves as the Scientific Director and Principal Investigator of MODEL-AD, a national NIH-funded initiative that develops and applies advanced animal models for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. She also leads neurodegeneration-focused programs as the Director of Neurodegenerative Disorders at the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute and Director of Research Initiatives for the Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders within the IU Health/IU School of Medicine Neuroscience Institute. In addition, she is Co-director of the Medical Neuroscience Graduate Program, where she mentors and trains future leaders in neuroscience.

A trained neuroanatomist, Dr. Oblak’s research explores how genetic risk factors — particularly the INPP5D/SHIP1 signaling pathway — and environmental influences like diet shapes Alzheimer’s disease. Her team uses genetically engineered mouse models to study disease progression and rigorously test new therapeutic approaches. She plays a leading role in aligning specific Alzheimer's disease pathologies with targeted drug strategies, helping to accelerate preclinical therapeutic development through precision modeling.

Her work bridges basic science and translational research, contributing significantly to national consortia such as MODEL-AD, TREAT-AD and NCRAD. Through these collaborations, Dr. Oblak helps guide the future of Alzheimer’s drug discovery and biomarker validation.

Dr. Oblak is passionate about mentoring the next generation of scientists and supporting interdisciplinary research. Outside of her academic work, she enjoys spending time with family and engaging in community science outreach.

Key Publications

Soni DM, Lin PB, Lee-Gosselin A, Lloyd CD, Mason E, Ingraham CM, Perkins A, Moutinho M, Lamb BT, Chu S, Oblak AL. Inpp5d haplodeficiency alleviates tau pathology in the PS19 mouse model of Tauopathy. Alzheimers Dement. 2024 Jul;20(7):4985-4998. doi: 10.1002/alz.14078. Epub 2024 Jun 26. PMID: 38923171; PMCID: PMC11247686.

Abhyankar SD, Luo Q, Hartman GD, Mahajan N, Corson TW, Oblak AL, Lamb BT, Bhatwadekar AD. Retinal dysfunction in APOE4 knock-in mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Feb;21(2):e14433. doi: 10.1002/alz.14433. Epub 2025 Jan 3. PMID: 39749840; PMCID: PMC11848189.

Dabin LC, Kersey H, Kim B, Acri DJ, Sharify D, Lee-Gosselin A, Lasagna-Reeves CA, Oblak AL, Lamb BT, Kim J. Loss of Inpp5d has disease-relevant and sex-specific effects on glial transcriptomes. Alzheimers Dement. 2024 Aug;20(8):5311-5323. doi: 10.1002/alz.13901. Epub 2024 Jun 26. PMID: 38923164; PMCID: PMC11350029.

Ahat E, Shi Z, Chu S, Bui HH, Mason ER, Soni DM, Roth KD, Chalmers MJ, Oblak AL, Zhang J, Gutierrez JA, Richardson T. SHIP1 modulation and proteome characterization of microglia. J Proteomics. 2024 Jun 30;302:105198. doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2024.105198. Epub 2024 May 20. PMID: 38777089.

Kotredes KP, Pandey RS, Persohn S, Elderidge K, Burton CP, Miner EW, Haynes KA, Santos DFS, Williams S-P, Heaton N, Ingraham CM, Lloyd C, Garceau D, O'Rourke R, Herrick S, Rangel-Barajas C, Maharjan S, Wang N, Sasner M, Lamb BT, Territo PR, Sukoff Rizzo SJ, Carter GW, Howell GR, Oblak AL. Characterizing molecular and synaptic signatures in mouse models of late-onset Alzheimer's disease independent of amyloid and tau pathology. Alzheimer's & Dementia. doi: 10.1002/alz.13828.

Sasner M, Oblak AL, Pandey RS, Uyar A, Garceau D, Kotredes KP, Soni D, Lin PB-C, Ingraham C, Lamb BT, Howell GR, Carter GW, MODEL-AD. Novel mouse models of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2023;19(S12):e078958. doi: 10.1002/alz.078958.

Oblak, A.L. et al. (2021). Comprehensive Evaluation of the 5XFAD Mouse Model for preclinical testing applications: A MODEL-AD Study Comprehensive Evaluation of the 5XFAD Mouse Model.  Front. Aging Neurosci. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.713726

Oblak, A.L. et al. (2020).  Model Organism Development and Evaluation for Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease: MODEL-AD.  Accepted to Alzheimer & Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions July 2020.

Jesudason CD, Mason ER, Chu S, Oblak AL, Javens-Wolfe J, Moussaif M, Durst G, Hipskind P, Beck DE, Dong J, Amarasinghe O, Zhang ZY, Hamdani AK, Singhal K, Mesecar AD, Souza S, Jacobson M, Salvo JD, Soni DM, Kandasamy M, Masters AR, Quinney SK, Doolen S, Huhe H, Rizzo SJS, Lamb BT, Palkowitz AD, Richardson TI. SHIP1 therapeutic target enablement: Identification and evaluation of inhibitors for the treatment of late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2023;9(4):e12429. Epub 20231117. doi: 10.1002/trc2.12429. PubMed PMID: 38023622; PMCID: PMC10655782.

Lin PB, Tsai AP, Soni D, Lee-Gosselin A, Moutinho M, Puntambekar SS, Landreth GE, Lamb BT, Oblak AL. INPP5D deficiency attenuates amyloid pathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement. 2022 Dec 16. doi: 10.1002/alz.12849. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36524682.

Tsai AP, Lin PB, Dong C, Moutinho M, Casali BT, Liu Y, Lamb BT, Landreth GE, Oblak AL, Nho K. INPP5D expression is associated with risk for Alzheimer's disease and induced by plaque-associated microglia. Neurobiol Dis. 2021 Jun;153:105303. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105303. Epub 2021 Feb 22. PMID: 33631273; PMCID: PMC8082515.

Oblak AL, Cope ZA, Quinney SK, Pandey RS, Biesdorf C, Masters AR, Onos KD, Haynes L, Keezer KJ, Meyer JA, Peters JS, Persohn SA, Bedwell AA, Eldridge K, Speedy R, Little G, Williams SP, Noarbe B, Obenaus A, Sasner M, Howell GR, Carter GW, Williams H, Lamb BT, Territo PR, Sukoff Rizzo SJ. Prophylactic evaluation of verubecestat on disease- and symptom-modifying effects in 5XFAD mice. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2022;8(1):e12317. Epub 20220714. doi: 10.1002/trc2.12317. PubMed PMID: 35846156; PMCID: PMC9281365

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