Dr. Pericak-Vance’s laboratory made the seminal discovery of the first association of a common genetic risk variant, the apolipoprotein e4 allele (APOE-4) for late-onset Alzheimer disease, followed closely by the identification of the APOE-2 allele as a genetic protective variant for Alzheimer disease. Many of Dr. Pericak-Vance's efforts are directed towards addressing health disparities in genomics research. She directs several related genetic research projects, one on Alzheimer disease in African Americans and a second on admixed Caribbean Hispanic and Amerindian populations.