2025

On March 13, UCI MIND and the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts Department of Music collaborated to present "Finding Light: Alzheimer's Stories" by Robert S. Cohen. The evening featured a pre-concert panel that included the composer, the conductor of the UC Irvine Chamber Singers & Concert Choir, the Director of UCI MIND, and two research participants who represented the lived experience of individuals living with cognitive impairment. The panel was followed by an incredible two-act performance by the UCI Chamber Singers & Concert Choir. First, the Chamber Singers performed a collection of related and inspiring pieces. After an…

Research often feels incremental, building slowly on studies of large cohorts of people over long periods of time who enable scientists to answer critical questions with a high degree of precision needed to detect meaningful, if small, differences between groups. But every once in a while, even a single research volunteer can empower science to move faster, changing the way we think about disease mechanisms or opportunities for treatment. Alzheimer’s disease research includes many such cases. They include people with early onset of Alzheimer’s disease that helped us understand genetic causes of the disease, who also taught us much about…

Dr. Crystal M. Glover of UCI MIND joined the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) Neuroscience Next in Yaoundé, Cameroon during February 24-27, 2025. AAIC Neuroscience Next scientific events took place at 12 global hubs or locations, with Yaoundé representing one site. The co-organizers of AAIC Neuroscience Next – Cameroon Hub were Dr. Alfred K. Njamnshi, Founder of the Brain Research Africa Initiative (BRAIN), and Dr. Bernard Fongang of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. These scientific events aimed to showcase research and related efforts focused on brain health in international contexts to facilitate scientific advancements, foster…

Professor of Pathology at UCI and UCI MIND faculty member, Elizabeth Head, PhD, is featured in Newsweek because of a woman enrolled in her study who defied the odds. The woman did not experience the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease despite having Down syndrome, being of an advanced age,  and having the hallmark pathological features of the disease in her brain. To read the full article, click here.  To learn more about Dr. Head's research, check out our 2024 Annual Report.  

Marcelo Wood, PhD, professor and Chair of the department of Neurobiology and Behavior was quoted in The Transmitter about the decrease in admissions to PhD programs in Neuroscience fields including at UCI.  To read the article, click here

Today, the UCI MIND trainee-led organization ReMIND held its annual Emerging Scientists day at the UCI Student Center. This annual event gives UCI MIND graduate students, medical students, and post-doctoral scholars opportunities to get out of the laboratory to present their work through posters and oral presentations, to network with and learn from each other, and to generally stay excited about research and the progress we are making toward understanding and discovering solutions for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD) research. Today’s event showcased cutting edge science, ranging from innovative new mouse models and biomarker development to consideration of the…

UCI MIND faculty member, Dr. Liz Head, was interviewed for Scientific American Lost Women of Science podcast about Dr. Marthe Gautier, the scientist who discovered the genetic cause of Down syndrome.  To listen to the podcast, click here

This week, I was honored to participate in a meeting convened by colleagues at the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, organizers of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative. The 1.5 day meeting in Pentagon City brought together a large variety of stakeholders, including researchers, advocates, pharmaceutical company scientists, non-profit organizations, and persons living with disease. It also included former US and current European regulatory officials (current US regulatory officials were not permitted to participate due to current federal communication pauses). The meeting was invigorating. Open dialogue ruled the day(s) and the optimism about progress toward discovering disease-delaying therapies was met with clear-eyed recognition of…

The recently published book “Doctored” has been promoted in a variety of outlets including the New York Times, STAT, and National Public Radio. The book squarely takes aim at Alzheimer’s disease research, collating recent articles in Science magazine and levying troubling accusations at a handful of prominent researchers in the field. The book paints with a broad brush, implicating the entirety of the field’s work and suggesting that these few cases cast doubt on the recently approved anti-amyloid treatments that have now entered the clinic and may hold promise for delaying the onset of cognitive problems due to Alzheimer’s disease.…

Dr. Leslie Thompson Leslie Thompson, PhD, a world renowned scientist and UCI MIND faculty member who studies Huntington disease, was recently quoted in Science about a new landmark paper in Cell. The paper uncovers a more dynamic picture of HTT, the gene responsible for causing the fatal neurodegenerative disease.  To read Dr. Thompson's quotes in Science and learn about the study, click here.

If you live with or have lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s disease you may find yourself with an inbox filled with well-intentioned emails from family and friends, about the latest research on Alzheimer’s disease or the new cure that drug companies don’t want you to know about. A recent New York Times article hits a bit differently. Linde Jacobs is a woman in her 30s with two young daughters. Four weeks ago, she lost her mother to frontal temporal dementia (FTD) and the article begins with her waiting to hear her genetic test result, that is whether she has…