In the News

Frank LaFerla, PhD The Orange County Business Journal named Frank LaFerla, PhD, Dean of the Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences, as one of the OC500 for Education. Read the recognition here

Since 2017, UCI MIND has partnered with the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement (WAM) at Cleveland Clinic, founded by Maria Shriver, to fund the Women’s Initiative. The initiative provides funding for research to better understand why women are at higher risk than men of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This year, the UCI MIND WAM at Cleveland Clinic Women’s Initiative is proud to support two exceptional investigators at UCI with groundbreaking research projects: Dr. María Corrada, Professor of Neurology in the School of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Joe C. Wen School of Public Health, will explore "Estrogen Replacement Therapy and…

RAMP trainees stand next to Dr. Lorna Carlin (middle). The Daily Breeze, a local Southern California online news source, highlighted the Research and Mentorship Program (RAMP), a collaborative training initiative between UCI MIND and the UCI School of Medicine to pair 2nd year medical students with faculty studying neurodegenerative diseases. The goal is to inspire future clinicians to pursue research and to specialize in neurology and geriatrics. The program is supported by Dr. Lorna Carlin and Hilarity for Charity, a non-profit organization started by Laura Miller-Rogen and Seth Rogen.  Read the article here

Dr. Vivek Swarup, associate professor of Neurobiology and Behavior and UCI MIND faculty member, was quoted this week in the popular online Alzheimer's disease publication, AlzForum, regarding 4 new AD risk genes that have been identified.  

Dr. Leigh Turner, Professor of Health, Society and Behavior, School of Public Health As part of a collaborative project with USC and other faculty at UCI, Dr. Leigh Turner has been awarded a 2 million dollar grant from National Science Foundation to use biocomputing and stem cells to build neural networks to one day combat neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Turner's role will be to study the ethical implications of this potential technology.  Read the article in UCI News.

https://news.uci.edu/2024/08/21/uc-irvine-discovery-of-item-memory-brain-cells-offers-new-alzheimers-treatment-target/

Ahmad Sajjadi, MD, PhD, was interviewed on NBCLA yesterday evening about the news that former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca who lives with Alzheimer's disease, wandered away from his home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbxF2XsLbDg

Dr. Bryce Mender UCI News highlighted a newly published study led by Bryce Mander, PhD, a UCI MIND faculty member and associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior, showing a link between sleep apnea and a decline in verbal memory.  To read the article in UCI News, click here.

Dr. Liz Chrastil Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior and UCI MIND faculty member, Elizabeth Chrastil, PhD, is featured in a Wall Street Journal article about studying her own brain in an MRI during pregnancy. To read the article and learn more about Dr. Chrastil's research, click here

The UC Irvine School of Medicine recognized the 2024 best mentors and Elizabeth Head, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine was awarded the Basic Science Faculty Mentor of the Year.   Dr. Head leads the Research Education Component (REC) of the UCI MIND Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and  co-leads the TITAN T32 training grant.

Jessica Noche, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar and REMIND co-chair recently published an article in the Journal of Neuroscience with UCI MIND faculty, Craig Stark, PhD, and Elizabeth Head, PhD, on the importance of playtime and socialization to increase regional brain size in aging beagles.  Read their article and the summary of the study in Health Day

As we celebrate Women's History Month this March, we also find ourselves at a historic moment in scientific inquiry for women’s health research. Today, nearly two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease are women, but the underlying cause of this sex disparity is still poorly understood. For decades, research focusing on women's health has been inadequate, with a mere 0.5% of all neuroimaging studies conducted over the past 25 years focusing on women's health. The potential to reach new heights in our understanding of the brain, especially today in the era of “big data” and artificial intelligence, is promising, but requires…

  Ahmad Sajjadi, MD, PhD, a UCI Neurologist and UCI MIND faculty member was interviewed live on NBC Los Angeles about the recent announcement that talk show host Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Watch the interviews here: 4pm and 7pm broadcasts  

Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe Biogen, the maker of aducanumab has announced that it will terminate the Phase 4 trial required by the FDA for aducanumab, the monoclonal antibody against beta amyloid that received accelerated approval in 2021. The company is also halting production of the compound and relinquishing ownership rights to the original developer, Neurimmune. Accelerated approval was based on the demonstration in multiple studies that treatment with aducanumab could lower brain amyloid in people with Alzheimer’s disease. But two Phase 3 trials gave contrasting results about aducanumab’s efficacy, preventing the FDA from granting full clinical approval for the medication.…

The medications have not been widely tested in Black people with the disease, underscoring stark — and persistent — disparities Robert Williford, 67, receives a dose of Leqembi at Abington Neurological Associates in Abington, Pa. (Hannah Yoon for The Washington Post) ABINGTON, Pa. — Wrapped in a purple blanket, Robert Williford settles into a quiet corner of a bustling neurology clinic, an IV line delivering a colorless liquid into his left arm. The 67-year-old, who has early Alzheimer’s disease, is getting his initial dose of Leqembi. The drug is the first to clearly slow the fatal neurodegenerative ailment that afflicts 6.7…

Black people know intrinsically about the myriad of life areas negatively impacted by the fact that the myth of white supremacy is baked into the foundations of all American institutions. But one area that doesn’t get enough attention is how racism robs Blacks of one of nature’s most powerful healing agents – sleep. Blacks have disproportionately higher rates of sleep disorders (sleep apnea, insomnia, more light and less deep sleep, delayed onset, more daytime sleepiness, and shorter sleep duration) compared to any other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. These disparities are compounded by the fact that they contribute…

Scientists in an MRI control area plan a focused ultrasound treatment at West Virginia University's Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. (Victor Finomore/WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute/AP) In the first study of its kind in humans, researchers have discovered that it is safe to use sound waves fired into specific areas of the brain to open a protective barrier and clear the way for Alzheimer’s medications. The study, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, involved just three patients, but it raises hope about the long-term potential of the treatment strategy known as focused ultrasound. Joshua Grill, professor of psychiatry and human behavior…

93 colored candles on a cake are being lit. (Getty Images) TAMPA (BLOOM) – Join us as we explore strategies—from mindful living to emerging technologies—and discover how every choice can lead to a longer and healthier life. Welcome to the science of aging, where the pursuit of health and happiness is the entire goal. Lifestyle Habits for Longevity Avoiding Harmful Substances In the pursuit of a longer, healthier life, steering clear of harmful substances is an obvious decision. Dr. Claudia Kawas, a distinguished neurologist at the University of California, Irvine, sounds the alarm on two major culprits: smoking and excessive alcohol…

Joshua D. Grill, PhDDirector, UCI MIND; Professor, Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Neurobiology and Behaviorphoto: Steve Zylius/UCI Dr. Joshua Grill, Director of UCI MIND is named one of Orange County’s 125 most influential people for 2023 by the Orange County Register! Read article here

UCI MIND faculty members, Drs. Mark Mapstone and Mark Fisher were recently quoted in a recent Rolling Stone article on the political divide between younger voters and aging legislators. Check it out here

Some people in their 80s and 90s show shockingly little decline in their brainpower. Scientists are beginning to understand what makes them different and how the rest of us might benefit Mark Ross Studio / Getty You can find Vernon Smith hard at work at his computer by 7:30 each morning, cranking out 10 solid hours of writing and researching every day. His job is incredibly demanding — he is currently on the faculty of both the business and law schools at Chapman University. But the hard work pays off: Smith’s research is consistently ranked as the most-cited work produced…

More than 6 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and the CDC expects that number to double in the next three decades. Photo by: Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP The first drug fully approved by the FDA for Alzheimer’s has been on the market for 10 months. Now, researchers are looking at testing it to prevent Alzheimer's. A shot that could one day prevent Alzheimer's disease — that’s the potential future for lecanemab, or Leqembi. Researchers are studying to see if the drug can prevent the disease. "We hope make breakthroughs in discoveries that change our ability to help people in their…

On Friday October 13, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a formal change to their coverage policy for amyloid PET imaging. Previously, with limited exceptions, patients were required to be enrolled in a clinical study known as “Coverage with Evidence Determination” for the scan to be reimbursed. Now, that requirement has been removed and the door has been opened for more patients to get the scan and result in savings of thousands of dollars for patients and their families. In fact, patients may have the opportunity to receive multiple covered scans as part of their routine care…

Most Americans favor an age limit for the president and other politicians. But some ethicists and scientists argue that’s ageist and scientifically unsound. Photos via Wikimedia Commons (left: Joint Congressional Committee; right: Gage Skidmore) Barring a considerable shift in the political winds, the next US president will be either 82 or 78 years old on Inauguration Day. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who twice froze in front of cameras and was unable to speak for several agonizing moments, is 81. His Democratic counterpart, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, is a comparative spring chicken at 72. Senator Dianne Feinstein died last month…

iStock Neurologist Dr. Claudia Kawas has been tracking the habits of the “oldest old,” those older than 90, in Southern California since 2003, as part of a study at the University of California, Irvine. She and a team of researchers have found links between longevity and even short amounts of exercise, social activities such as going to church, and modest caffeine and alcohol intake. Read the article here.

Hispanic people are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's. ‘Our America: Unforgettable’The documentary special, produced by ABC Owned Television Stations in partnership with ABC News, takes a looks at alarming data on Alzheimer’s disease through a Hispanic and Latino lens. Nearly 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease, an irreversible and devastating form of dementia that gradually breaks down memory and thinking skills. But not everyone is equally at risk. Hispanic people are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than white people, according to data from the Alzheimer's Association. "Our America: Unforgettable" is an hour-long special produced by ABC Owned…

This summer, UC Irvine was again one of only 10 universities in the U.S. to host a free six-week program to train undergraduate students in the fundamentals of biostatistics, data science and computing. For the second year in a row, the Irvine Summer Institute in Biostatistics and Undergraduate Data Science (ISI-BUDS) brought students to UCI from across the nation and, as part of the training, offered hands-on experience conducting cutting-edge biomedical research. The ISI-BUDS Program Of the more than 150 applicants, 15 students were selected for the highly competitive program, which includes up to $500 in travel expenses, free housing,…

Whatever keeps the community up at night – or makes them pull the covers over their head to not face the day – probably won’t surface for years to come, but Dr. Karen Lincoln sees where it starts in the early stages through brain imaging. In and of itself, she said it’s not so much about sleep, but rather why advanced aging disproportionately impacts the Black community. Two of her landmark studies, Sleep Tight and Express Yourself, show how and why everyday discrimination and microaggressions are taking a dramatic toll on health. Earlier this year, Dr. Lincoln joined UCI faculty…

Sen. Dianne Feinstein during a committee hearing in 2022. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) No cause of death has been disclosed for Dianne Feinstein, the longtime California senator who struggled with evident health problems in her final years before her death Friday. She was absent from the U.S. Senate for nearly three months earlier this year while recovering from a case of shingles that led to encephalitis, a rare complication that causes inflammation and swelling in the brain. She was briefly hospitalized in August after falling at her home and was often seen in a wheelchair in public. Indications that Feinstein, 90, was struggling with memory problems have…

UCI MIND Director, Dr. Joshua Grill was recently interviewed by the OC Register about the Institute's role in being a reliable source of information about Alzheimer's disease. Read the full article here