Don’t miss this upcoming documentary filmed by OCWorld, featuring Director Dr. Joshua Grill – Tune in this Sunday on KDOCTV at 3:30pm! Contributed by OCWorld: “Tune in THIS SUNDAY on KDOCTV at 3:30pm for the premier of our final installment of our first season. This is Hope Dies Last – Alzheimer’s: A Journey of Lost Memories. This short documentary explores the impacts of Alzheimer’s disease in Orange County, a growing epicenter for the disease. Featuring insights on the disease from experts like Dr. Joshua Grill from UCI MIND and Deborah Levy, Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Association OC Chapter.
We’re celebrating #OlderAmericansMonth (OAM) this month! This year, our theme is Age My Way. We’re focusing on how older adults can plan, participate, and connect in ways they choose while aging in place, living independently in their communities for as long as possible. Find OAM resources at Visit http://ow.ly/LB2L50IVOO0
The Head lab celebrating World Down Syndrome Day with their crazy socks! Some of those featured include: Liz Head Lorena Sordo Elizabeth Andrews Jeremy Rouanet Cherie Lepe Lisi Flores-Aguilar Jesse Pascual Learn more about Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease at https://sites.mind.uci.edu/headlab
Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, The COVID-19 surge caused by the Omicron variant has produced unwanted challenges for our research. Yet, our investigators remain unrelenting and highly successful in their work. Dr. Ira Lott received the international Trisomy 21 Research Society Montserrat Trueta Award (page 1). Dr. Claudia Kawas received the UCI Senate Better World Award (page 5). We honored Bob and Virginia Naeve with our UCI MIND Award, though we were unable to hold our A December to Remember Gala, to deliver it with the pomp and circumstance they deserve (page 7). Cherry Justice has…
UCI MIND Director Dr. Josh Grill is giving a talk on Zoom about Dementia Care, hosted by Happy 50 Plus, on March 24, 2022 from 4-5:30 PM. He will be speaking on “Effective Diagnosis and Treatment for Alzheimer’s, and What’s New on the Horizon.” This event will be in English with Mandarin Chinese translation. The talk is free to join, but pre-registration is required. Zoom Registration link: bit.ly/DementiaCare0324 Please see the flyer below for information regarding this upcoming event.
This International Women’s Day, UCI MIND remains committed to understanding why almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women. Research conducted in partnership with Maria Shriver’s Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, whose organization has awarded $500,000 to UCI MIND since its launch in 2017, seeks to answer that question. Show your support by advocating, donating, and participating in research today!
We are pleased to announce that the in-person support group meetings for families who are caring for individuals living with Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease are resuming next month in March. All details may be found in the flyer linked here and below. These meetings are co-sponsored by The Down Syndrome Program at UCI MIND, The Regional Center of Orange County, and Alzheimer’s Orange County, in collaboration with the Down Syndrome Association of Orange County.
Originally posted by Orange County Aging Services Collaborative (OCASC): We now have Mastering the Master Plan translated into Spanish, English, Vietnamese, and ASL! Please see below links to share with everyone you know. This event was hosted by the collaborative and the County of Orange on Nov 5th, 2021 to educate everyone about the CA Master Plan for Aging. It also included a town hall with elected officials. This is an important topic and this plan needs to be implemented at the local level. Do YOU know about the CA Master Plan for Aging? What are your elected officials doing…
UCI MIND’s partner and sponsor of the Research And Mentorship Program (RAMP) HFC, led by Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, has announced their annual convention for caregivers, CareCon. Learn more here >
Congratulations to UCI MIND member Dr. Claudia Kawas, who was just announced as the recipient of a UCI Academic Senate 2021-22 Distinguished Faculty Award. Dr. Kawas, who is a Professor of Neurology, will receive the Academic Senate Better World Award. To learn about her research studying longevity in the oldest-old, visit 90study.org.
Here's to a great year of podcasting with our new series for caregiver stories, Spotlight on Care! Let's take a look at 2021: Top Episode Recognizing the Early Signs of Alzheimer's Disease with Bill Edwards was the most popular episode of Spotlight on Care in 2021. It was published on February 02 and has been downloaded 186 times. Listen to it here! 19 Episodes In 2021, Spotlight on Care published 10 hours of new content across 19 episodes. That’s 587 minutes or 35,256 seconds to be more precise. 2,311 Downloads In 2021, Spotlight on Care episodes were downloaded 2,311 times thanks...
❄️Wishing you a joyous holiday season with our sincere appreciation for your trust & confidence in us as we research ways to make memories last a lifetime We wish you a New Year filled with Peace, Happiness & Hope Joshua D. Grill, PhD & the Faculty & Staff of UCI MIND
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) clinical trials require the enrollment of two people: a participant and a study partner. Study partners play critical roles for trial success. Yet, little is known about the impact of study partners, especially in trials that enroll individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). At this year’s Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference in Boston, Navneet Hakhu from the Grill/Gillen lab presented data about who study partners are in these important clinical trials. He showed that the prevalence of adult child and other dyads was much lower than that of spousal dyads. But importantly, these adult child and other dyads were much more likely…
Cognitive assessments are a crucial part of Alzheimer’s disease studies as these help track cognitive decline; however, these assessments may be subject to a practice effect, an improvement in scores due to familiarity with the assessment. Practice effects can mask cognitive decline, so it is important to understand whether these exist in commonly used assessments. At this year’s Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference in Boston, Michelle Nuño in the labs of Drs. Joshua Grill and Daniel Gillen, presented the group’s work investigating whether the letter fluency test, a commonly used assessment, is subject to a practice effect. Through…
TODAY is #GivingTuesday – a day that celebrates generosity in all its forms! In honor of this global generosity movement, make a gift today to UCI MIND. We hope you will expand our capacity to conduct promising research and advance progress toward ending Alzheimer’s disease by supporting the UCI MIND Alzheimer’s Disease Excellence Fund. GIVE NOW
Tomorrow is #GivingTuesday – a day that celebrates generosity in all its forms! In honor of this global generosity movement, consider making a gift today to UCI MIND. We rely on the support of people like you in our community to advance life-changing research and accelerate the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, a devastating illness that impacts more than 6 million Americans and their families. GIVE NOW We hope you will support us by Giving Tuesday, November 30th, 2021 #GivingTuesday
This month is #NationalCaregiversMonth – a time to recognize and honor family caregivers across California and raise awareness to increase support for caregivers. Many caregivers work and provide care which can make it challenging to maintain their own well-being. . As a caregiver, it’s essential to take care of yourself, too. The California Department of Aging has compiled a list of resources to assist you in this role. https://bit.ly/ALZDcare
November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease may show signs of: Memory loss that disrupts daily life, such as getting lost in a familiar place or repeating questions. Difficulty completing familiar tasks. Confusion with time or place. Change in mood, personality, or behavior. If you or a loved one shows signs listed above, consult your health care provider. For more information on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, see https://bit.ly/ALZD10
Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, Fall is here and the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Though we are seeing signs of improvement, life is not yet back to normal. This fall, the pandemic once again forced us to move several of our major annual activities to a virtual format (page 7) or to cancel them entirely (page 5). But it has not slowed the important work happening at UCI MIND. In this issue, you will learn about funded work from Dr. Liz Chrastil (page 4). She studies the hippocampus, a part of the brain affected…
Continuing all this week, National Public Radio’s “Academic Minute” series features a UCI expert. This Friday, tune in to hear Jean K. Ho, postdoctoral scholar at the UCI Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, who studies how hypertension medications help ward off memory loss. Learn More At NPR’s Academic Minute: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564572329/the-academic-minute You Can Also Listen On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1060078714
Join Neuropsychologist Dr. Michelle McDonnell on Thursday, Oct 21 @ 12 PM PT for a live discussion and Q&A on what to do if you suspect that you have a #memory problem. Bring your questions! See you Thursday on: Facebook YouTube
Congratulations to UC Irvine Neurobiology and Behavior graduate student, Marina Ritchie for receiving the award for Best Virtual Student Poster in the theme of Drug Development at this year’s Alzheimer’s Association International Conference #AAIC2021! Her poster, on “Estimating attrition in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment clinical trials,” excellently conveyed her research to the judges and attendees at the esteemed conference earlier this year. As a 3rd year graduate student in the labs of Drs. Josh Grill and Daniel Gillen, Marina’s research focuses on identifying means to improve recruitment, retention and overall study design in Alzheimer’s disease and related…
Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, The summer of 2021 brought the Tokyo Olympics of 2020. Our UCI MIND researchers continue to earn gold medals for their work in fighting Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (page 1). Gold medals also go to Virginia Naeve and Steve O’Leary for establishing a remarkable resource for caregivers, Spotlight on Care (page 4), available through UCI MINDCast. Spotlight on Care is made possible by the generous support of Stephen Hamill and his family (page 5). And our REMIND trainees were also shining stars this summer—launching a new program to inspire local…
On June 28–29, 2021, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a virtual workshop, “Behavioral and Social Research and Clinical Practice Implications of Biomarkers and Other Preclinical Diagnostics of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias” (AD/ADRD). UCI MIND Director Joshua Grill was an invited participant in this meeting, for which a brief report is now available.
Panel of experts from around the nation to give updates on what is the third leading cause of death in Orange County. UCI MIND and Alzheimer’s Orange County will host a free, virtual conference featuring experts discussing the latest developments in research around Alzheimer’s disease, which is Orange County’s third leading cause of death and afflicts more than 84,000 residents. The 32nd annual conference, “Alzheimer’s From All Angles,” will stream live on YouTube and Facebook on Sept. 10 from 8 a.m. to noon. One particularly timely topic will be what effect a viral disease like COVID-19 can have on brain…
Join Orange County Aging Services Collaborative on Sept 24th from anywhere! This conference is meant for older adults and those who support them. Family, friends, professionals, general public, community, and YOU! RSVP HERE: https://bit.ly/TSIGSept24
UCI MIND at #AAIC María M. Corrada, ScM, ScD contributes: In The Life After 90 Study, a one-of-a-kind multiethnic cohort of individuals 90 and older, memory concerns appear to identify individuals with objective cognitive impairment but do not identify those whose cognition may decline faster. With additional enrollment and longer follow-up, we will continue to explore the utility of memory concerns in predicting future cognitive performance and potential ethnoracial differences in a segment of the population that is often excluded from research.
Sept. 10th Virtual Alzheimer’s Research Conference #AlzAngles: Dr. Thomas Lane will discuss the impact of viral infections, like COVID-19, on Alzheimer’s disease. Register for free: https://conference.mind.uci.edu/register
Join UCI MIND Director Joshua Grill, PhD & Neurologist Gaby Thai, MD Thursday, June 24 @ 12 PM PT for a discussion on the FDA‘s recent decision on aducanumab, Aduhelm! Bring your Qs Thursday to: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/188018221232375/posts/4358845157482973/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLxt0zIG6vY
How are loneliness, isolation and elder abuse connected and what role has the COVID-19 pandemic played? The OC Aging Services Collaborative invites you learn the answer at the upcoming #WorldElderAbuseAwarenessDay webinar. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/WEAAD2021
Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, Spring has sprung and there is much to look forward to. COVID-19 infections remain low in Orange County. We are grateful to our colleagues from UCI Health who have done an incredible job of caring for people during the pandemic and navigating us toward an end through well-organized vaccination programs. We are planning resumption of our pre-pandemic research activities. The campus has reduced restrictions on in-person research while maintaining essential safety parameters. There is a collective sense of eagerness to “catch-up” on work delayed by the pandemic. This will include UCI…
JOIN US FOR A FREE VIRTUAL CONFERENCE: “Alzheimer’s from all angles” About the Conference Join Alzheimer’s Orange County and UCI MIND for the 32nd Annual Southern California Alzheimer’s Disease Research Conference. This free, half-day, virtual conference will cover a wide range of topics concerning Alzheimer’s disease, from updates on research, to treatments, diagnostics, risk factors, and genetic resilience. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on brain health will also be discussed. Friday, September 10, 2021, 8AM-12PM PT Free and open to the public Livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube Who Should Attend? Healthcare Providers Senior and Social Service Providers Researchers Students…
Thank you for your generous support of UCI MIND for UCI Giving Day. We raised over $18,000 to directly support Alzheimer’s disease research. To learn more about UCI MIND, we invite you to check out our 2020 Annual Report. Thank you!
COVID-19 has introduced tremendous uncertainty into our lives. It has made life challenging for many, none more than families facing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Yet, one certainty remains – brain diseases will devastate our increasingly older population…unless researchers find solutions. UCI MIND remains focused on these efforts. To support the scientists, students, and programs across our great university, donate to dementia research on #UCIGivingDay coming up on Wednesday, April 28th. Help us rise to the challenge and unlock a $2,500 gift in support of Alzheimer’s research from Belmont Village by being one of the first 50 donors to UCI…
How are male and female brains different? Join UCI MIND for live Q&A with Dr. Ashley Keiser this Thursday, April 15 @ 12:00 PM PT. Visit mind.uci.edu/mindcast for direct links to YouTube and Facebook
Our community partners, Alzheimer’s Orange County, the UCI Down Syndrome Program at UCI MIND, the Regional Center of Orange County and the Down Syndrome Association of Orange County, have provided an ongoing education and support program to individuals and families living with Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease. To learn more, visit: https://www.alzoc.org/resources/idd/ There will be a three-part training series offered in May for those working in group homes, day programs, & other agencies. The flyer is listed below and the PDF is accessible here >
Contributed by Orange County Aging Services Collaborative The registration for Senior Rally Day is open! Please share the attached flyer with your networks. Click Here to Register
Contributed by Ashley A. Keiser, PhD A new study from researchers in Sweden published in Brain finds faster accumulation of a major hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, neurofibrillary protein aggregates containing tau in female, compared with male brains. Researchers also found greater memory impairments in women with Alzheimer’s disease. Sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease risk have been extensively reported. Particularly, women exhibit greater cognitive impairment and the rate of acceleration of impairment is observed to exceed men. Women are also twice as likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Although previous cross-sectional studies that capture a single data point in time…
Brain Health & Alzheimer’s Thursday, April 8th 10-11:30am Location: Zoom Meeting ID: 965 2691 0913 Passcode: Spring2021
Last weekend, UCI Down Syndrome Program Manager Eric Doran passed out healthcare supplies to caregivers and individuals with Down syndrome at DSAOC’s “To Your Health” Event. His partner for the day, Sean McElwee, stars in A&E Network’s Emmy-winning docuseries, Born This Way and runs his own t-shirt printing business, Seanese. Sarah Jensen attended the drive-by event with her parents. In addition to PPE and disinfectant products, she received a backpack and craft supplies. To learn more about the Down Syndrome Program, contact downsyndrome@uci.edu or 714-456-8443.
Message from the Director Happy New Year, Friends of UCI MIND! For many of us, a New Year brings the promise of fresh starts and new beginnings. In 2021, it also means a welcomed good-bye to a very long 2020. Despite the challenges that 2020 brought, it also brought progress that must now continue in 2021. This includes progress in social justice, progress in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and progress in research to rid the world of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. UCI MIND is committed to contributing to further progress in each of these areas. Though the COVID-19 pandemic…
UC Irvine’s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders raised some $300,000 at its A December to Remember Gala on Dec. 5, 2020. The event took place virtually for the very first time, reaching over 850 viewers on multiple online channels including Facebook, Youtube and the UCI MIND website. A recording of the event is available to view on UCI MIND’s YouTube page. The online broadcast, co-hosted by UCI MIND Director Joshua Grill and auctioneer Zack Krone, included performances from Justin Willman, the star and creator of the hit Netflix series “Magic for Humans,” and Ashley Campbell, singer-songwriter and daughter of…
Quarterly Seminar Series provided by UCI MIND-SCCCA Joshua Grill, PhD February 16, 2021 1:00 – 2:00 PM PT Free Virtual Event
Do you have questions about Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease? Ask the Doc! Join experts Dr. Ira Lott, Dr. Elizabeth Head, and Eric Doran this Thursday from 12-1 PM PT for a live virtual Q&A panel. How to Ask the Docs: 1. Register here to pre-submit questions. 2. On Thursday at noon, click your preferred website below to view the live episode: – YouTube (ask & view) – Facebook (ask & view) – UCI MINDcast (view-only) 3. Participate in Q&A on YouTube or Facebook by typing your questions into the comments box.
Join UCI School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on Thursday, February 11th for a community information session with their Scientists & Pharmacists to learn the basics about COVID-19 Vaccines and what to expect as they become more widely available. Registration links below! Can’t make it on February 11th? Join them on March 1st for an encore presentation. February 11th Registration: https://bit.ly/2M6YQFc March 1st Registration: https://bit.ly/3pt8sIt
UCI MIND is now accepting applications for IMPACT-AD, a multi-day course on clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). The training course, directed by Joshua Grill, PhD, Director of UCI MIND and Rema Raman, PhD, Director of Biostatistics at USC Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute, was launched in 2020 and is designed to educate and promote diversity among researchers and future principal investigators in the field of ADRD. The course will run from September 19-23, 2021. Applications close April 30, 2021. Learn more and apply at https://impact-ad.org