(from left) Andrea Wasserman, Frank LaFerla, David Baglietto-Vargas, Grant MacGregor, Ali Mortazavi, Kim Green, Andrea Tenner UCI MIND co-director Frank LaFerla and Drs. Andrea Tenner, Kim Green, Grant MacGregor, Marcelo Wood, and David Baglietto-Vargas were awarded an $11.35 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create the next generation of mouse models to study Alzheimer’s disease. The news released by UCI on October 9 continues to draw local media attention, featured in the LA Times/Daily Pilot and Newport Beach Patch this morning. UCI MIND is already home to the discovery of the first ever mouse model to develop…
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Maria Shriver, internationally renowned Alzheimer’s disease advocate, founder of The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, and former First Lady of California, will be honored at UCI MIND’s 8th annual A December to Remember gala on Saturday, December 2, 2017. “Maria Shriver is a champion for Alzheimer’s disease research and a voice of strength for many families and individuals who are suffering as a result of this disease,” says Dr. Joshua Grill, co-director of UCI MIND. “We are proud to partner with Ms. Shriver and honor her important work that continues to shine a light on Alzheimer’s disease.” Shriver is the founder of…
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Drs. Frank LaFerla and Andrea Tenner will lead a new NIA-funded project to humanize mouse genes for research into Alzheimer's disease. “The new mouse will more accurately mimic human Alzheimer’s conditions, enabling superior testing of therapies designed to slow or prevent the disease,” said Dr. LaFerla, Co-Director of UCI MIND...read more >
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Marsha and Lionel Grove met in high school and have been married for over 50 years. Marsha graduated from UCLA and worked as a clinical laboratory scientist. Lionel is a USC alumnus and aerospace engineer. They now both participate in multiple studies at UCI MIND. What motivated you to participate in research at UCI MIND? Marsha: Our families are surrounded by Alzheimer’s disease. My sister and my mother both died with Alzheimer’s disease and Lionel has it in his family as well. We’ve experienced it first hand, so we want a cure to be found because we know just how…
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Frank LaFerla, PhD, Co-Director of UCI MIND, Dean of the UCI School of Biological Sciences Today, UCI announced a transformative gift of $200 million to create the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences (press release). The gift is the largest in the history of the university and will launch and will launch a major integrative health initiative that will ultimately benefit all members of the Orange County community and the world. You may be wondering what is integrative medicine? In the simplest terms, it is an approach that focuses healthcare on the whole person and the whole community, using…
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by Mark Mapstone, PhD, Professor of Neurology By now, most Alzheimer’s researchers have seen the writing on the wall. If we are to realize successful treatments or even a cure for Alzheimer’s disease we must turn our attention from the study of patients who have already developed dementia to those who are in the earliest stages of the disease where presumably, the brain pathology is less extensive and possibly more receptive to intervention. This shift to studying preclinical disease will allow us to determine exactly what the earliest brain changes are and hopefully, develop means to treat, reverse, or even…
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Co-director, Dr. Joshua Grill, discusses research based strategies for maintaining brain health with Healthline.com. Click here to read the full article >
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Photo provided by the Alzheimer's Association Dr. Lindsay Hohsfield, postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Kim Green, was awarded first prize in the Basic and Translational Science Poster Competition at the 2017 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in London. Her work demonstrates the critical role of microglia (immune cells of the brain) in Alzheimer's disease pathology. UCI MIND congratulates Dr. Hohsfield on this important accomplishment! Click the video to learn more about Dr. Hohsfield's presentation at AAIC.
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UCI MIND congratulates Dr. Claudia Kawas, recipient of the Alzheimer's Association International Conference Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Kawas was honored at the 2017 conference in London for her lifetime commitment and contributions to the field of Alzheimer's disease research. Press release > Photo provided by the Alzheimer's Association
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Co-Director Dr. Joshua Grill and his colleague from the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Jason Karlawish, wrote an article for Forbes regarding the role companies must take to fight Alzheimer's in our country. "More than 5,000,000 Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. The cost of their care exceeds $250 billion annually, making this disease more costly than heart disease or cancer. Corporations are incurring costs as well. Adult child caregivers are likely to be working full-time, and therefore they must sacrifice substantial earning potential at precisely the time in life when savings are essential to providing for other dependents, retirement, and…
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The final 2 days of AAIC 2017 were informative and collaborative for UCI MIND researchers. Day 4 included poster presentations by Chelsea Cox and Dr. Ahmad Sajjadi, and Day 5 featured a lecture by Dr. Andrea Tenner on the biology of complement risk genes in Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, Dr. Lindsay Hohsfield was awarded first place in the postdoctoral poster competition held earlier in the week. We congratulate Lindsay on this accomplishment and all our investigators who shared their cutting-edge work at AAIC this year! In the news, Dr. Gil Rabinovici from the UCSF ADRC presented initial results from the IDEAS…
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Co-Director, Dr. Joshua Grill, discusses important discoveries in biomarker testing (video).Dr. Liz Spangenberg presents her research in Dr. Kim Green's lab on the role of the brain's immune cells, microglia, in the regulation of amyloid beta in Alzheimer's disease (photo).
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An important presentation by UCI MIND’s Dr. Maria Corrada, delivered on July 16 at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London, has generated substantial media attention. The presentation discussed results of a joint study between UCI and Kaiser Permanente researchers, which demonstrated that the increased risk for dementia among African Americans compared to whites known to occur in “younger old ages” persists in people in their 90’s.To read more about this and other work presented at the conference on the risk for dementia among African Americans, click here.
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CNN has featured data presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London, which offer the latest support to the value of a healthy diet to late life brain function. The study by investigators at UCSF and University of Michigan examined a national cohort for adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet is associated with lower risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, two conditions linked to Alzheimer's disease. In line with several previous studies, the investigators found that those who eat a diet composed largely of plants and healthy fats (found in fish, nuts and olive oil, for example) are…
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Day 2 at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference featured a poster presentation from Dr. Chuang-Kuo Wu on his research to better understand and diagnose posterior cortical atrophy (video) and a lecture from Dr. S. Ahmad Sajjadi on higher education as a protective factor against cognitive decline in the oldest-old. Over 5,600 researchers and clinicians are in attendance at the conference this year, providing UCI MIND exciting opportunities to learn from and share findings with our global partners in the fight to solve Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
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Day 1 of the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in London has been productive for UCI MIND researchers! Dr. Claudia Kawas was honored for her dedication and contributions to the field with the esteemed Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. Maria Corrada presented on the racial and ethnic disparities of dementia in people 90 years and older, Dr. Lindsay Hohsfield was selected to participate in a highly competitive postdoctoral poster competition, and Dr. David Baglietto Vargasshared his discovery of the first sporadic Alzheimer's disease mouse model to develop human amyloid beta, which will allow researchers to more effectively investigate disease pathology…
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UCI MIND faculty member, Dr. Ruth Benca, and her colleagues at the University of Wisconsin, published a paper in Neurology yesterday on the link between sleep quality and risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. The study included 101 cognitively healthy older adults believed to be at an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease based on self-reported family history or presence of the APOE e4 risk gene. Participants answered questions about their sleep quality and underwent a lumbar puncture, or spinal tap, so that Dr. Benca and her team could analyze biological changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). What they found was…
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UCI MIND’s Dr. Joshua Grill quoted in OC Register article on local Alzheimer’s support organizations
UCI MIND Co-Director, Dr. Joshua Grill, is quoted in a recent article in the OC Register that describes Alzheimer’s Orange County and the Alzheimer’s Association Orange County Chapter. UCI MIND is proud to work with both community partners. Read the full article here>
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Today, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed what researchers at UCI MIND have long known to be true: Alzheimer’s disease is an escalating public health crisis that requires increased attention. The report examined rates of death due to Alzheimer’s disease from 1999 to 2014 and found a staggering 55% national increase over that time. Rates were higher among women than men and among non-Hispanic whites compared to other racial/ethnic populations. However, over this time period Alzheimer's death rates saw a greater increase within minority groups compared to non-Hispanic whites. The report also confirmed that the number of Alzheimer’s deaths is highest in…
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Drs. Dan Cooper, Director of UCI ICTS, Howard Federoff, Vice Chancellor of Health Affairs, and Frank LaFerla and Joshua Grill, Co-Directors of UCI MIND, write letter to the editor re: “O.C. doctor helps halt Alzheimer’s progression” >
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The medications may help a bit with thinking and memory, but the results vary among patients, and may not be that big, says Dr. Claudia Kawas, a neurologist at UC Irvine. Still, they can make a difference. If family members start noticing that a person remembers conversations better, she’d call that a “great” result. read more>
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“We show a proof-of-concept therapy where we could reverse some of the abnormalities in the blood vessel cells by treating them with a drug,” - Thompson, who is affiliated with UCI MIND and the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center
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“Stroke is a major cause of human disability and we are trying to come up with ways of giving people a larger dose of rehabilitation therapy, especially in the home, in order to reduce disability after stroke.” - Cramer
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UCI MIND Co-Director, Dr. Frank LaFerla, discusses Alzheimer's disease research funding with CNBC... California, one of the few states that does Alzheimer's research, has even cut back its funding, said Dr. Frank LaFerla, dean of the UCI School of Biological Sciences at University of California Irvine. "Almost all funding comes from the NIH now," he said. Dr. LaFerla, who is waiting for his own Alzheimer research grants to be approved, is also an advocate. He also takes regular trips to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress to push for more money that creates "a healthy ecosystem in the…
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UCI MIND investigators Mathew Blurton-Jones, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology & Behavior, Wayne Poon, PhD, Director of UCI MIND Tissue Repository, and Edsel Abud, MD/PhD student, have created a method to generate brain cells called microglia using human skin cells. Here, they discuss their findings and what it means for Alzheimer's disease research in an interview with Chelsea Cox, Associate Director of Education: What is microglia and what role does it play in Alzheimer's disease? Poon: Microglia are the immune cells of the brain. They play a big role in the inflammation of the brain that occurs in Alzheimer’s disease. How can…
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UCI-led study to advance understanding of the role of microglia in Alzheimer’s disease Using human skin cells, University of California, Irvine neurobiologists and their colleagues have created a method to generate one of the principle cell types of the brain called microglia, which play a key role in preserving the function of neural networks and responding to injury and disease. The finding marks an important step in the use of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for targeted approaches to better understand and potentially treat neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. These iPS cells are derived from existing adult skin cells and…
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"UCI MIND, Orange County’s only state and federally funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, is calling on Orange County residents age 65 to 85 who have normal memory function to help in meeting its urgent need for study participants in an active clinical study now underway. The researchers are hoping to find new ways to prevent, slow, and/or stop Alzheimer’s disease before it begins..." read more>
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by Joshua Grill, PhD April 12, 2017 On April 6, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) partially reversed an earlier decision to halt direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing by the company 23andMe, a personal genomics company based in Silicon Valley. The new decision approves the company to provide “genetic health risk reports” for 10 diseases, including 8 rare disorders—Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, Celiac Disease, Early-Onset Primary Dystonia, Factor XI Deficiency, G6PD Deficiency, Gaucher Disease, Hereditary Hemochromatosis, and Hereditary Thrombophilia—and two common age-related neurological disorders—Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). After age, the strongest risk factor for AD is genetics. The e4…
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by Mary Rechtoris - April 5, 2017 Researchers spanning the nation are working to employ analytics to drive real changes for patients with various conditions. Joshua Grill, PhD, co-director of the Memory Impairments Neurological Disorders Institute at University of California Irvine, details how he and fellow researchers are using analytics systems for clinical trials on Alzheimer's disease research and how data may shape trials moving forward...
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by Joshua Grill, PhD Letters: A quick cure for Alzheimer's? OC Register, March 29, 2017 Re: “Is Alzheimer’s treatment of injecting stem cells into the brain a breakthrough or quackery?” : The Register recently reported on a local neurosurgeon who is injecting liposuctioned stem cell serum into the brain of a patient with Alzheimer’s disease for $10,000 per treatment. The neurosurgeon says the patient is improving...
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American Academy of Neurology March 22, 2017 UCI MIND faculty member, Dr. Claudia Kawas, was announced as one of two recipients of the 2017 Potamkin Prize for her dementia research in The 90+ Study. Dr. Kawas has studied over 1,700 people over the age of 90, called the "oldest-old," to understand more about brain aging and Alzheimer's disease in the fastest-growing population segment throughout much of the world. The $100,000 Potamkin Prize is an internationally-recognized achievement, sometimes referred to as the Nobel Prize of Alzheimer's research. The other recipient, Dr. Kristine Yaffe from UCSF, focuses on modifiable risk factors for dementia, such as sleep disturbances and traumatic…
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by Joshua Grill, PhD March 9, 2017 Clinical trials: Trust the process Patients with Alzheimer’s disease and their families are desperate. Currently, no treatment can cure or even slow the course of this insidious and unrelenting brain disease. Scientists are desperate too. Many of us have committed our lives to improving the way we understand, diagnose, and treat this terrible disorder. A few weeks ago, I was asked to comment on an anecdote: a single patient whose own fat was liposuctioned and injected into his brain. I was told that the patient and his neurosurgeon were convinced that he had…
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by Joshua Grill, PhD February 15, 2017 Merck announced on Tuesday, February 14, that yet another clinical trial of a promising Alzheimer’s disease drug had failed. The trial was testing the safety and efficacy of verubecestat, an oral therapy that, at some doses, can reduce amyloid beta production by as much as 90% (Kennedy et al., Science 2016). The trial was being conducted in patients with mild-to-moderate dementia and was stopped because it was determined early that there was essentially no chance of showing a clinical benefit of the drug, compared to placebo. Perhaps importantly, based on the limited available…
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The 23rd UCI Distinguished Lecture Series on Brain, Learning, and Memory hosted by UCI MIND, UCI School of Biological Sciences, and UCI Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory was held on February 7, 2017, at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. Dr. Ruth Benca, UCI MIND faculty member and Professor and Chair of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, delivered a lecture on sleep and brain health to over 850 community members, the largest attendance for this series to date. Dr. Benca’s engaging presentation first addressed why human’s need sleep and some of the common disorders that interfere with the critical sleep…
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MedPage Today February 8, 2017 Learn more about a recent research study conducted by UCI MIND Co-Director, Dr. Joshua Grill, and colleagues to better understand patient and caregiver reactions to clinical amyloid imaging. Read more>
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U.S. News & World Report February 6, 2017 "This is not a deal-breaker," co-author Charles Limoli, a neurobiologist at the University of California, Irvine, said last fall. "I do not think that during the course of a trip to Mars and back the astronauts will come back with anything remotely similar to full-blown Alzheimer's. But more mild changes, more subtle changes − they would still be concerning, given the level of autonomy astronauts operate under and the amount of work they have to do." Read more>
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December 6, 2016 Joshua Grill, PhD, and Aimee Pierce, MD This week, at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) meeting in San Diego, we will likely learn more about the recent announcement from Eli Lilly and company that their Phase 3 clinical trial of the monoclonal antibody against the soluble form of beta amyloid, solanezumab, did not demonstrate adequate efficacy to pursue approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Until then, here is what we do know: The drug solanezumab failed, but the trial didn’t. The purpose of the trial was to measure whether solanezumab was safe and…
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December 1, 2016 KCAL9/CBS2 If you missed UCI MIND Gala Co-Chairs, Lucy & Roger Lisabeth, on KCAL 9 last night, tune into CBS 2 Los Angeles tonight at 5pm with Elsa Ramon to hear their powerful story. Learn more about what the Lisabeths and UCI MIND are doing in the fight against Alzheimer's disease here.
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November 28, 2016 60 Minutes Did you hear UCI MIND researcher Dr. Claudia Kawas last night on 60 Minutes? Click here to read the script and learn more.
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Ira T. Lott, M.D. is the Director of the UCI MIND Down Syndrome Program and Professor Emeritus of UC Irvine School of Medicine. While focused on helping people with Down syndrome, Dr. Lott is also expanding knowledge about Alzheimer's disease in the general population. Dr. Lott's work exemplifies the vital collaboration among people with Down syndrome, their families, and the researchers who work with them. We are honored to present him with the 8th Annual UCI MIND Award at this year's Gala. The UCI MIND Award is the Institute’s most distinguished honor bestowed upon an individual who exemplifies the mission…
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Join us in honoring our 2016 Community Leadership Honorees, Linda Young and Burton Young, at A December to Remember Gala on December 3 at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach. Linda and Burton have worked tirelessly to increase research funding for treatments and a cure for Alzheimer’s disease at UCI MIND. Burton, Principal and Founder, Sperry Equities & Sperry Commercial, has served as chair of the UCI MIND Leadership Council since its inception. His message is clear: private gifts provide leverage and flexibility for researchers to test innovative ideas that will help find treatments, preventions and cures for dementia…
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Elsa Ramon is the weekend evening anchor and weekday reporter for CBS2/KCAL9 and has received four Emmy nominations for her exceptional work in newscasting. Elsa graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a B.A. in English Literature and is a proud Anteater in support of Alzheimer’s disease research at UCI MIND. Elsa recently participated in a behind-the-scenes tour of the UCI MIND research labs seeing for herself the dedication and determination of each and every faculty, staff, and student involved. Elsa’s grandmother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, which compels and excites her to share with her southern California viewers the exciting…
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Join our community partners, Orange County Aging Services Collaborative and Family Caregiver Resource Center, for a special evening celebrating caregivers.
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Have questions about healthy brain aging, memory loss, or Alzheimer's disease research? Come to an open forum Q&A session on November 3 at The Covington in Aliso Viejo from 5:30-7:30 pm. UCI MIND is bringing a panel of experts to you at no cost. Hope to see you there! Click here to register online or call Kirsten Klein at (949) 824-9475. http://askucimind.eventbrite.com
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Reserve tickets today for the 7th Annual UCI MIND Gala, A December to Remember, on December 3rd at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach! Toast the holidays with an elegant evening of dining, dancing, and philanthropy that will have a lasting impact. All proceeds will support Alzheimer's research at UCI MIND, OC's only state and federally funded Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Tickets & Event Information>
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"UCI MIND takes multipronged approach to finding preventions, cures in effort to avert baby-boom crisis..."
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Click to view a message from Dr. Grill!
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