Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, UCI MIND has embarked upon an exciting new chapter, made possible by the support of our local community. The Quilter Family— Ann and Charlie, Chris, Matt and Patty, and Patrick—have made the largest donation in the history of the Institute. This gift is not only transformative, it is constructional. The Quilters’ generosity was quickly followed by similarly remarkable demonstrations of support from other UCI MIND community members, including Harriet Harris, the Brethren Community Foundation, Laura Khouri and Michael Hayde, and Keith Swayne. The UCI School of Medicine is also a key…
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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, It has been an exciting season for UCI MIND. As you saw in our cover article, the Quilter Family has made the largest gift in our organization’s history. This gift is allowing us to reimagine the future of UCI MIND and we could not be more grateful. Our investigators remain highly productive, securing large research grants (p 4). And we continue to bring cutting edge and valuable information back to our community in a variety of ways, including through yet another successful local research conference (p 5) in partnership with Alzheimer’s…
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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, The summer ended with a flurry of positive news for UCI MIND. Thankfully, our NIA P30 grant that makes us Orange County’s only federally-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center was officially renewed in July (p 1). Then, in September, a team of investigators led by Dr. Ahmad Sajjadi was awarded an additional large clinical research grant that is very much aligned and synergistic with the work of the ADRC (p 6). These grants and the overall portfolio of funded work by UCI MIND investigators position us to not only continue our work,…
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Today in STAT, my colleague and friend, Dr. Jason Karlawish from the University of Pennsylvania Memory Center offers “The way we talk about dementia is about to change completely.” The history of dementia care is less than ideal. Patients struggle to be seen by specialists and many if not most are not even diagnosed. Nihilism is rampant and the resources available to most patients and families on the journey of living with dementia are inadequate. Few treatments have achieved approval for use in dementia, despite many promising ones entering clinical trials but failing to demonstrate adequate evidence of efficacy. Dr.…
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With a $21 million renewal grant from the National Institute on Aging, the University of California, Irvine reinforces its status as a global leader in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research. The five-year award will support the continued work of UCI MIND’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, which has been advancing understanding of memory impairments and engaging with the community for more than 40 years. “This funding comes at a crucial moment for our research,” said Joshua Grill, Ph.D., director of UCI MIND and co-director of the ADRC. “It will build on our history of discovery and propel translational dementia research…
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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, Please enjoy this issue of MIND Matters. We include a description and photos from our collaborative event with the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts Department of Music, "Finding Light: Alzheimer’s Stories." Then, be sure to watch some of this amazing performance here: Concert Choir. This event in some ways exemplifies the mission of UCI MIND. Though our investigators spend nearly all of their time in the lab or clinic conducting state-of the art research, we never lose sight of the human elements of disease and this powerful collaboration through…
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Dean LaFerla gives a presentation on MODEL-AD The Alzheimer’s Disease Parkinson’s Disease (ADPD) 2025 International Conference, held this year in Vienna, Austria, is an annual gathering for scientific experts and industry leaders in neurodegenerative diseases. This conference serves as a platform for sharing the latest scientific breakthroughs, clinical trial results, and innovative treatment strategies. With attendees from over 70 countries giving more than 1,200 poster presentations and 700 oral presentations, ADPD uniquely combines discussions on Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and related disorders, fostering a deeper understanding of their respective mechanisms and potential therapies. The conference also highlights the importance of global collaboration,…
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Message from the Director For many, the new year is a time for fresh starts and resolutions. As we enter 2025, we at UCI MIND are taking the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the mission to conduct research to discover solutions for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. UCI MIND investigators are unwavering in our commitment to this mission. The remainder of this newsletter, as with all of our newsletters, describes the manifold elements of the work of UCI MIND—from conducting fundamental basic science, to running vital clinical trials, to sharing our knowledge with you the community we serve and…
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