UCI MIND faculty member, Craig Stark, PhD was recently quoted in Science Magazine discussing the critical role scientists play in helping improve society. The article focuses on a push to better understand the science behind addiction, and how scientists are spreading evidence-based treatment knowledge through regional and national seminars. By regularly hosting seminars to gather scientific and legal experts, researchers can better inform the criminal justice system on how to improve substance abuse recovery rates in the incarcerated population. Dr. Stark, a neurobiologist who specializes in brain imaging at UCI, has presented at dozens of these legal seminars, speaking on…
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Tune in this Friday, August 2 @ 9AM for the next episode of our monthly Facebook LIVE series, "Can brain scans be used to diagnose Alzheimer's?" This month, we're joined by Craig Stark, PhD. Dr. Stark earned a doctorate in Cognitive Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a Professor of Neurobiology & Behavior, the James L. McGaugh Chair in Neurobiology of Learning & Memory, and serves as Director of the UCI Campus Center for Neuroimaging and the state-of-the-art Facility for Imaging and Brain Research (FIBRE). Dr. Stark’s research utilizes brain imaging and experimental psychology to increase understanding of long-term…
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Stewart Cohen/Getty Images NPR recently spoke on All Things Considered about the EXERT Study, a nationwide clinical trial of exercise led by Carl Cotman, PhD, UCI MIND's Founding Director, and Laura Baker, PhD, Associate Director of the ADRC at Wake Forest School of Medicine. The study involves an 18-month exercise program at the local YMCA for 65-89 year-olds with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Throughout the program, researchers look at participants' cognition, blood flow, atrophy (cell loss), and harmful protein accumulation in the brain. Researchers hope to learn about the clinical effect of exercise, as well as the scientific basis for their…
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Days 3-4 at #AAIC19 included more impressive poster presentations from UCI MIND researchers AND prestigious poster awards received by TWO postdoctoral trainees 👏 Congrats to Drs. Lindsay Hohsfield (Kim Green lab) & Davis Woodworth (Ahmad Sajjadi lab)!Postdoctoral trainee in Dr. Kim Green's lab, Dr. Lindsay Hohsfield, won the Basic & Translational Science Poster Competition at #AAIC19 for her innovative research on the association between microglia and tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease.Postdoctoral trainee with Dr. Ahmad Sajjadi, Dr. Davis Woodworth, won the Diagnosis & Prognosis Poster Competition at #AAIC19 for his innovative research into the utility of MRI detection of atrophy…
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Day 2 of #AAIC19 included lectures on sleep and Alzheimer's disease from Drs. Ruth Benca and Bryce Mander, opportunities for collaboration, and rich discussion over poster presentations from numerous UCI MIND faculty and trainees.Dr. Ruth Benca, UCI Professor & Chair of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, was invited to deliver a plenary lecture among the world's experts in Alzheimer's disease research. #AAIC19Dr. Ruth Benca presented a plenary lecture on sleep and Alzheimer's disease to over 5,000 international investigators at #AAIC19ASK! Open Q&A session with Dr. Ruth Benca after her plenary lecture #AAIC19Dr. Bryce Mander presented on using local slow-wave measured during…
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This week, many UCI MIND researchers are sharing their work and collaborating with researchers across the globe at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in LA! Check out some photos from Day 1 and stay tuned for updates.#AAIC2019 in LA!Davis Woodworth, a postdoctoral trainee working with Dr. Ahmad Sajjadi presented a poster on using MRI to detect atrophy in hippocampal sclerosis. #AAIC2019UCI MIND project scientist and epidemiologist, Christian Salazar, presented a poster on racial and ethnic differences in willingness to be contacted about research studies. #AAIC2019Dr. Claudia Kawas was asked to present and participate on an esteemed panel discussion of limbic-predominant…
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Facebook Live Series - ASK THE DOC: Alzheimer's Research Today! This monthly series features short talks and Q&A with experts from the University of California, Irvine Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND), 1 of 32 congressionally designated Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers in the nation. Join UCI MIND on Facebook (@UCIrvineMIND) the first Friday of every month from 9:00-9:30 AM PST to learn about advances in research to improve Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Episode 6: "What medications can I take to prevent or treat Alzheimer's?" This month, we're joined by Steven Tam, MD. Dr. Tam is…
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The Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH), in partnership with AARP, recently released an extensive report reviewing the current evidence on brain health supplements. AARP formed the GCBH by bringing together an independent group of scientists, physicians, researchers, and other experts. Click here to learn more about these specialists. The GCBH found that there was a lack of evidence for effectiveness, concerns about false claims in marketing, and uncertainty of the possible risks of brain health supplements, since they are not required to be reviewed for purity, safety, and efficacy. The GCBH concluded that no endorsement could be made for…
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Contributed by Joshua Grill, PhD The field of Alzheimer’s disease drug development received more troubling news yesterday, when the leaders of the GENERATION program halted their prevention clinical trials of a drug aiming to prevent the formation of the beta amyloid protein in people at risk to get Alzheimer’s disease. The GENERATION program is led by investigators at Banner Alzheimer’s Institute and is an important study in people at increased genetic risk to someday develop Alzheimer’s disease, based on the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene. The trials were stopped because preliminary results indicated that the drug under study, CNP520 (being developed…
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