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 art is a testament to this mission.
The remainder of the issue highlights our investigators and particularly our early career scientists. Science is a noble but arduous career choice. It is critical to invest in the next generation of investigators to see us to our goals in research. Philanthropy is key to this element of our mission. That is why we are so grateful for community leaders like Jonathan and Kim Varenchik, as well as Ann and Charlie Quilter. Ann and Charlie will be honored as recipients of the UCI MIND Award at this year’s December to Remember Gala, December 6.
Joshua D. Grill, PhD
Director, UCI MIND
UCI Hosts Collaborative Alzheimer’s Themed Concert
On Tuesday, March 11, Claire Trevor School of the Arts’ Department of Music and UCI MIND collaborated to present a poignant musical event that shined a light on Alzheimer’s disease and paid tribute to those affected by it. The concert, titled “Finding Light: Alzheimer’s Stories,” took place at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, featuring a three-part choral composition by Robert S. Cohen. The evening began with an insightful panel discussion, bringing together the composer, conductor, UCI MIND Director Joshua Grill, PhD, and a couple who shared their personal journey. This prelude set the tone for the emotional performance to follow. Assistant Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Music, Irene Messoloras, DMA, masterfully conducted the UCI Chamber Singers and Concert Choir. The program opened with the Chamber Singers performing seven selected pieces, each…
Celebrating Emerging Scientists: 16th Annual REMIND Symposium
–Valerie Tung
Each year, Research and Education in Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (REMIND), a trainee-led group within UCI MIND, hosts the Emerging Scientists Symposium to showcase the work of early-career researchers studying neurodegenerative diseases. Hosted on campus, the event highlights groundbreaking work from undergraduates, graduate students, medical students and postdoctoral fellows, providing a platform for early career scientists to present their data and engage in meaningful discussions with experts in the field.
This year’s event featured a keynote presentation by Hector González, PhD, Professor in the Department of Neuroscience in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, whose research focuses on Latino neurocognitive aging. His talk highlighted the importance of understanding how different populations experience neurodegenerative diseases through his work on the SOL-INCA study.
Throughout the afternoon, invited trainees presented their cutting-edge research on topics ranging from Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s neuropathology to innovative imaging techniques and microbiome interactions. The event featured 5 “invited lectures” by select trainees. Mara Burns from the Thompson Lab described molecular patterns in Huntington’s disease mouse models using advanced transcriptomic analysis. Jean Paul Chadarevian, PhD, from the Blurton-Jones Lab presented his work on neuroinflammatory changes in early disease pathology. Gina Faraci, PhD, from the Whiteson Lab presented her work on how Alzheimer’s-related mutations impact the gut microbiome.
Later in the afternoon, Elizabeth Andrews from the Head Lab discussed how age and sex influence Alzheimer’s pathology in individuals with Down syndrome. Casey Hudson from the Acharya Lab introduced a promising therapy for treating “chemobrain” in breast cancer survivors using stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles. A highlight of the event was the poster competition in which trainees presented their research to a panel of judges. This year, two trainees were recognized for their outstanding presentations, Casey Hudson and Gina Faraci, PhD.
In addition to the poster competition, UCI MIND presented the 2025 Carl W. Cotman Award, which recognizes trainees who demonstrate exemplary dedication to neurodegenerative disease research. Claire Butler, PhD, from the Green Lab (left photo) was recognized for her work in understanding inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease, particularly work she has done with MODEL-AD. Also awarded was Lisi Flores-Aguilar, PhD, from the Head Lab (right photo) who was recognized for her contributions to understanding Alzheimer’s pathology in individuals with Down syndrome. The work of these early career scientists exemplifies the high-impact research being conducted at UCI MIND and their commitment to advancing the field.
Exploring Remarkable Resilience
Recent news from UCI MIND has highlighted the scientific phenomenon of “resilience” in Alzheimer’s disease. Resilience occurs when a person’s clinical presentation does not match the pathology seen in their brain upon postmortem examination.
The Christchurch mutation was identified in 2019 in a now famous case report of a woman who lived well into her 70s, relatively 
cognitively unimpaired, despite carrying a gene that should have given her dementia due to Alzheimer’s decades earlier. When she passed, scientists learned two important facts: 1) she had a brain riddled with amyloid plaques and 2) she also carried a rare mutation on her APOE gene that we now know as the Christchurch mutation that seemed to confer a level of cognitive protection.
In the time since this case report was published, many scientists have used the discovery of the Christchurch mutation to advance our understanding of AD. In fact, earlier this year Kristine Tran, a PhD candidate in the Green Lab and Nelly Kwang, an MD-PhD student in the Swarup and Green Labs were lead authors on a important paper in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration demonstrating a mechanism for the protective role that the APOE Christchurch mutation may offer in AD. Tran and Kwang, along with a team of UCI MODEL-AD scientists, used two different mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease to show that the Christchurch mutation acts in one model to enhance the microglial response to amyloid plaques but in another to inhibit the microglial inflammatory response to tau neurofibrillary tangles.
Another remarkable woman enrolled in research at UCI has made the news in recent weeks, including Newsweek and the New York Post. She was enrolled for decades in longitudinal brain aging cohort studies for people with Down syndrome, including the Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) study under the leadership of Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UCI, Elizabeth Head, PhD. What makes this woman unique is that she lived dementia free well past the age that most people with Down syndrome develop cognitive decline (typically in their late 40’s or early 50’s). She contributed years of clinical data, blood, CSF, and neuroimaging, and when she died in her 60’s, she donated her brain. Dr. Head and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh, Harvard, Columbia and Washington University recently published a case report about the neuropathological findings from this participant in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. The team found that despite being cognitively stable at a late age, her brain showed signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other pathologies. Work to understand her resilience is underway and will leverage the immense amount of data she has provided scientists.
UCI MIND PROFESSOR AWARDED GRANT TO STUDY EARLIEST PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE IN DOWN SYNDROME
Every year, the Alzheimer’s Association awards millions of dollars in grants to researchers around the globe. Kevin Beier, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics with joint appointments in Neurobiology and Behavior, Biomedical Engineering, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, is the most recent UC Irvine recipient of the Association’s International Research Grant Program. He will receive $200,000 to pursue his project titled, The role of the retrosplenial cortex in mouse and human Alzheimer’s disease.
His lab uses retroviruses to map neural circuits in order to study the basis of addiction, mood disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. “My proposal aims to explore the retrosplenial cortex as an early driver of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Dr. Beier. “We have found in mouse models that hyperactivity in the retrosplenial cortex causally contributes to the progression of AD; we are testing whether similar changes occur in the retrosplenial cortex in people, and whether these changes can be observed early in disease. As our findings could lead to new disease targets as well as new biomarkers of early AD, the Down syndrome population, who are genetically predetermined to develop AD neuropathologic changes, may disproportionately benefit from our research. Therefore, we are testing whether similar molecular changes occur in the brains of donors with Down syndrome.” Dr. Beier adds, “breaking into Alzheimer’s research as an outsider can be particularly difficult. Funding from the Alzheimer’s Association is an important validation of our research goals, and a critical step towards our long-term mission of performing ground-breaking research in AD.”
On a sunny afternoon in late April, longtime supporters of UCI MIND, Jonathan and Kim Varenchik gathered with 40 of their closest friends and family to celebrate his birthday and advocate for a cause close to their hearts. It was the second annual holding of the cleverly named, Cinco de MINDo, a Cinco de Mayo-themed party to support Alzheimer’s disease research.
Attendees enjoyed Mexican food, margaritas, and the opportunity to speak with UCI MIND experts including Geriatric Psychiatrist Lydia Ann, MD, and Associate Professor of Neurology, Crystal M. Glover, PhD.
Mr. Varenchik, who lost 3 of his 4 grandparents to Alzheimer’s disease, established a new tradition, by naming sponsorship levels in honor of the tequilas that instill the party refreshments. His friends, Matt and Natasha Stevenson were deemed this year’s “Extra Anejo” sponsors for their generous support of the event. Mr. Varenchik discussed why he supports UCI MIND and his hope to use his birthday to convince others to do similarly. UCI MIND Director Dr. Grill shared the story of UCI MIND and the remarkable progress being made in Alzheimer’s disease research.
Community support is vital to the mission of UCI MIND. Leaders like Jonathan and Kim Varenchik will ensure this mission continues and accelerates.
Upcoming Events
Save the Date:
36th Annual SoCal AD Research Conference
Nature, Nurture & Neurodegeneration
October 24, 2025 /Irvine Marriott
December to Remember Gala
Honoring Ann & Charlie Quilter
December 6,2025
Ask the Doc Video Series
Guest Experts from UCI MIND
New Episodes Monthly
UCI MINDcast: mind.uci.edu/mindcast/#atd
Spotlight on Care Podcast Series
Steve O’Leary, Virginia Naeve, & Guests
New Episodes Regularly
UCI MINDcast: spotlightoncare.com
Past educational sessions are archived on UCI MINDcast and YouTube
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