ELIZABETH and ERNEST ALTHOUSE were longtime residents of Poughkeepsie, New York, where they were both employees of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation. Mr. Althouse joined the company in 1928 and by 1968 had risen to become its president. He retired in 1975, but continued to serve as vice-chairman of the board until his resignation in 1986. Mrs. Althouse joined the company in 1927 and worked as home service director until 1935. From 1942 to 1943 she served in the same role working for the New York State Emergency Food Commission. Also, for 23 years she was a volunteer for the American Cancer Society in Dutchess County and served on its board of directors. During their long lives, the Althouses received many honors for their professional and volunteer service.
Elizabeth Plank Althouse Professorship for Alzheimers Research in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
School of Medicine
Established in 2007 through the estate of Ernest Emanuel Althouse in honor of his wife, Elizabeth Plank Althouse
Held by Constantine G. Lyketsos
CONSTANTINE G. LYKETSOS, MD, SPH 1994, the inaugural Elizabeth Plank Althouse Professor for Alzheimer’s Research, is a world renowned expert on the treatment of dementia. Dr. Lyketsos, who joined the Hopkins faculty in 1993, leads a multi-disciplinary team developing and implementing new treatments for Alzheimer’s. The work aims to uncover biomarkers (biological signatures) that will assist diagnosis as well as accelerate treatment development. His research has been pivotal in defining the neuropsychiatric aspects of Alzheimer’s (depression, agitation, and delusions, for example), especially their efforts on patient quality of life and treatment, disease progression, and patient caregivers. A 2006 winner of the William S. Proxmire Award for extraordinary leadership in the care and treatment of people with Alzheimer’s disease, Dr. Lyketsos serves as director of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He has been cited in America’s Top Doctors for six years in a row and has held a joint faculty appointment at the Bloomberg School of Public Health since 1994.