Dr. Vivek Swarup has been awarded an Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant to study oligodendrocyte dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Dr. Swarup writes that Alzheimer’s disease has long been thought of as a problem of nerve cells, but new evidence shows that support cells called oligodendrocytes (OLs) may also play a direct role in driving the disease. These cells help insulate and protect nerves, but in Alzheimer’s, they appear to malfunction and may even produce harmful amyl...| UCI MIND
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The post UCI MIND Investigators Featured in UCI News for New Study on Sex Differences in AD Pathology Among Individuals with Down Syndrome appeared first on UCI MIND.| UCI MIND
Related posts: Dr. Marcelo Wood quoted in The Transmitter about future PhD admissions in Neuroscience Marcelo Wood, PhD, professor and Chair of the department of Neurobiology and Behavior was quoted in The Transmitter about the decrease in admissions to PhD programs in Neuroscience fields including at UCI. To read the article, click here... Engineered microglia show promise for treating Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases UC Irvine team develop cell-based platform for brain-wide delivery...| UCI MIND
The post Dr. Lisi Flores-Aguilar wins the Postdoctoral Best Poster Award at AAIC appeared first on UCI MIND.| UCI MIND
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...| UCI MIND
Newly published research from UCI MIND scientists shows that people carrying a genetic risk factor (APOE4) for Alzheimer’s disease experience faster and more severe memory loss, but other cognitive abilities remain largely unchanged. The study, published in Neurology and led by MD/PhD student Casey Vanderlip and Professor Craig Stark in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, found that APOE4 specifically affects how and when memory declines in Alzheimer’s disease. While APOE4 is kno...| UCI MIND
Two UCI MIND faculty members and principal investigators on the Alzheimer Biomarkers Consortium-Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) study have been featured this week in AlzForum for an article they co-authored in Lancet Neurology on June 12th about the ability of blood tests to predict dementia in people with Down syndrome. Drs. Head and Mapstone also authored a response to the article in AlzForum which can be read here. The article in Lancet Neurology can be found by clicking here. The post Drs. Head ...| UCI MIND
Every year, the UC Irvine Committee on Scholarly Honors and Awards selects the recipients of the Academic Senate Distinguished Faculty Awards. This year two UCI MIND faculty have been recognized: Distinguished Senior Faculty Award for Research Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus Leslie Thompson Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, School of Medicine Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Resear...| UCI MIND
Dr. Ahmad Sajjadi was quoted in the online publication, Prevention, about the important role aerobic exercise can play in improving well being cognition. The post Dr. Sajjadi quoted in Prevention on the importance of exercise for brain health appeared first on UCI MIND.| UCI MIND
On Thursday, June 26th, 2025, UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman announced the appointment of Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and UCI MIND faculty member, Aileen Anderson, PhD, as the vice chancellor for research. “Throughout her distinguished career, Professor Anderson has demonstrated a strong commitment to fostering a thriving, inclusive and interdisciplinary research environment. She has a proven track record in building research infrastructure, supporting faculty and train...| UCI MIND
AlzForum summarized recent work led by Drs. Lindsay Hohsfield and Kim Green, and published in the highly cited journal Neuron, about a newly identified route for myeloid cells from bone marrow to enter the brain. To read this discovery, click here. Related posts: Dr. Sajjadi comments on former LA County sheriff wandering incident 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 disea...| UCI MIND
Jean Paul Chadarevian, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Blurton-Jones Lab at UCI MIND has been awarded a three-year, $225,000 grant from the Larry L. Hillblom Foundation to support his research to better understand how peripheral immune cells contribute to the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). For his project, “Examining the impact of peripheral monocyte-derived macrophage infiltration in AD pathogenesis,” Dr. Chadarevian will investigate how immune cells beyon...| UCI MIND
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 combine...| UCI MIND
Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, Please enjoy the latest issue of MIND Matters from UCI MIND. In this Spring issue, we highlight a number of exciting updates about the impact UCI MIND investigators are having in the field. On the cover, post-doctoral fellow Dr. Claire Butler highlights progress made by the collaborative MODEL-AD group, including a publication she led. Another post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Jessica Noche, highlights an exciting collaboration in which UCI MIND ...| UCI MIND
A June 17 article in the Los Angeles Times highlighted an important safety risk associated with the new class of medications recently approved for treating Alzheimer’s disease. The drugs are anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies and include aducanumab, donanemab, and lecanemab. Of these, only lecanemab has achieved full FDA approval at the time of writing. The side effects are collectively known as amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, or ARIA, and are potential side effects for each of these...| UCI MIND
Today, the FDA convened its Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee to review the data from pivotal clinical trials of donanemab, a monoclonal antibody against the beta amyloid protein that accumulates in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s disease. One of these trials was conducted at UCI MIND. The efficacy of donanemab in treating early Alzheimer’s disease in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease is largely agreed to...| UCI MIND
For patients experiencing cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), choosing the most appropriate treatment course at the right time is of great importance. A key element to these decisions is the careful consideration of the available scientific evidence, particularly from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) such as the recent lecanemab trial. Translating RCT results into patient-level decisions, however, can be challenging. This is because trial results tell us about the outcomes o...| UCI MIND
The FDA today announced that it will convene an advisory panel to review the data submitted to support potential approval of donanemab, a monoclonal antibody against the beta amyloid protein that demonstrated efficacy in early Alzheimer’s disease in a recent Phase 3 clinical trial. A positive decision to approve donanemab had been expected before the end of this month. Though data for donanemab’s ability to lower brain amyloid levels are convincing, the FDA had opted not to grant accelera...| UCI MIND
Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, Happy New Year! We hope that 2024 is off to a positive start for you. As we embark upon a new year, UCI MIND and the field of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) research are abuzz with excitement about progress made and opportunities to further advance our field. At the end of 2023, we held our annual signature fundraising event, the December to Remember Gala. We honored Lauren Miller Rogen and Seth Rogen, the founders of H...| UCI MIND