Saturday's December to Remember Gala at the Balboa Bay Resort was a testament to the incredible generosity of our community! We are deeply grateful to every attendee who opened their hearts to support the vital work of UCI MIND. A special thank you to the incomparable Zack Krone, whose exceptional talent as our emcee and auctioneer kept the energy high and the giving spirit flowing all evening long! The evening began with the Quilter family's historic $50 million lead gift—and what happened next was truly extraordinary! Through the incredible generosity of our community, that gift grew to $80 MILLION! We…
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Image credits: Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG. On December 18, the Orange County Register published its “Most Influential People in Orange County for 2025” list. On it were UC Irvine Vice Chancellor for Advancement and Alumni Relations Brian Hervey, Ann and Charlie Quilter, and PatrickQuilter. Each of these individuals was central to the recent announcement that UCI has commenced planning for a new campus building that will bear Ann’s name and give UCI MIND a new state-of-the-art home. Brian, who oversaw the campus’s recent successful completion of the Brilliant Futures campaign was essential to the early stages of campus negotiations…
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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, It has been an exciting season for UCI MIND. As you saw in our cover article, the Quilter Family has made the largest gift in our organization’s history. This gift is allowing us to reimagine the future of UCI MIND and we could not be more grateful. Our investigators remain highly productive, securing large research grants (p 4). And we continue to bring cutting edge and valuable information back to our community in a variety of ways, including through yet another successful local research conference (p 5) in partnership with Alzheimer’s…
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https://news.uci.edu/2025/12/12/uc-irvine-receives-12-million-to-test-novel-stem-cell-therapy-for-huntingtons-disease/?utm_source=uci-digest&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text
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From left to right the Quilter family: Chris, Patrick, Charlie, Ann, Matt, and Patty Quilter UCI MIND is proud to celebrate a historic philanthropic gift from a local family whose commitment and generosity have transcended a traditional donor relationship with Orange County’s only Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Guided by the visionary leadership of Professor and Director, Joshua Grill, PhD, the long-held goal of bringing UCI MIND’s entire research enterprise under one roof has now become a reality. On Sunday, December 7th, The Orange County Register, recognized the tremendous gift that the Quilter family has given to UCI MIND towards dementia…
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Ann and Charlie Quilterphoto: Steve Zylius/UC Irvine With a $50 million lead gift from the Quilter family and approximately $30 million in new commitments, the University of California, Irvine’s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders will begin planning to build a state-of-the-art research and care facility to enhance its position as a global leader in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research and patient care... UC Irvine announced to the campus community Monday that $80 million dollars have been raised to build the Ann Hutchinson Quilter Hall for UCI MIND. To learn more about the the lead gift from the…
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Research on limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE), a type of dementia that is distinct from but can mimic Alzheimer's disease, is ramping up as signaled by a recent New York Times article. Compared to someone living with Alzheimer’s disease, a person diagnosed with LATE has more memory problems and trouble with their words but experiences a slower decline in thinking. People with LATE are also more likely to be over the age of 80. More patients want to discuss LATE with their neurologists and members of the general public are paying attention. The article features interviews with several individuals diagnosed…
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Novo Nordisk today announced disappointing topline results for two clinical trials, EVOKE and EVOKE+, of their GLP-1 agonist semaglutide for Alzheimer’s disease. Semaglutide is approved for treatment of diabetes and obesity and there were mixed signals in the literature for this drug and other drugs like it as to whether they could offer benefit to people with Alzheimer’s disease. The 18-month trials included a combined 3808 participants, suggesting they should have been well-powered to show a benefit of treatment if one existed. The press release indicates that effects of treatment were observed on Alzheimer’s biomarkers, but it doesn’t say which…
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Today, I published an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer with my colleague Jason Karlawish, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania about blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease. Blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease represent remarkable and rapid progress and will revolutionize care for people with cognitive impairment and dementia. They will also pave the way to prevention—increasing accessibility to sensitive biological tests of brain health and disease. But the tremendous advances in science have also led to some business opportunities that concern us. We were able to locate 6 companies on the Internet that are offering blood tests directly to consumers; that…
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In the heart of Orange County beats a source of strength, compassion, and transformation — Latino Health Access (LHA). For more than three decades, this extraordinary organization has been a beacon of hope, empowering Latino families to take charge of their health and well-being. At the center of it all stands Dr. America Bracho, whose vision, courage, and love for her community have inspired generations. A physician from Venezuela with a master's in public health from the University of Michigan, Dr. Bracho founded Latino Health Access on a simple yet profound belief: health equity begins with the people themselves. Under…
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