Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, The summer ended with a flurry of positive news for UCI MIND. Thankfully, our NIA P30 grant that makes us Orange County’s only federally-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center was officially renewed in July (p 1). Then, in September, a team of investigators led by Dr. Ahmad Sajjadi was awarded an additional large clinical research grant that is very much aligned and synergistic with the work of the ADRC (p 6). These grants and the overall portfolio of funded work by UCI MIND investigators position us to not only continue our work,…
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Today in STAT, my colleague and friend, Dr. Jason Karlawish from the University of Pennsylvania Memory Center offers “The way we talk about dementia is about to change completely.” The history of dementia care is less than ideal. Patients struggle to be seen by specialists and many if not most are not even diagnosed. Nihilism is rampant and the resources available to most patients and families on the journey of living with dementia are inadequate. Few treatments have achieved approval for use in dementia, despite many promising ones entering clinical trials but failing to demonstrate adequate evidence of efficacy. Dr.…
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On September 26th, 2025, more than 200 community members gathered in Downey for a powerful day of learning, storytelling, and connection at the “Advances in Alzheimer’s Research” conference. The program focused entirely on supporting and informing the Spanish-speaking community about Alzheimer’s disease—risk reduction, available treatments, and opportunities to participate in clinical research. We were especially proud to see our own UCI MIND's Dr. Christian Salazar, Associate Researcher, and Dr. Maria Corona, Neuropsychologist, as members of the distinguished panel, alongside Drs. Maria Aranda of USC, John Ringman of USC, and Mirella Diaz-Santos of UCLA. All presentations were delivered in Spanish to…
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Kevin Beier, PhD, Assistant Professor, Physiology & Biophysics School of Medicine Drs. Kevin Beier and Elizabeth Head, both faculty members of UCI MIND, along with co-investigators Drs. Liz Chrastil and Jing Zhang have been awarded a 4 year NIH grant to study how hyperexcitability in neurons in a unique brain region (the retrospenial cortex thought to be a candidate site where AD pathology begins) contributes to the development of behavioral deficits in 3 mouse models of AD and what the molecular mechanisms are that underlie this effect. To translate their results to AD in people, they will assess the molecular…
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Ahmad Sajjadi, MD, PhD (right) UCI MIND is in the spotlight again with the announcement of large collaborative NIA grant to study LATE. Read the article in the UC Irvine News
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This week NPR published an article describing the reactions of three scientists who learned and subsequently shared their APOE genetic results. What makes this story unique is the way these highly informed people responded to learning their results and their convergent paths of using this knowledge to help advance Alzheimer’s research. The three scientists discovered at various points in their life that they were homozygous for the e4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene. APOE codes for a protein that functions primarily to move cholesterol around the body. The e4 allele of the APOE gene is also the strongest…
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Lourdes Gonzalez holding a tissue sample (photo by Steve Zylius) Postmortem neuropathological examination of brain tissue is considered the gold standard for understanding many neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Although fluid and imaging biomarkers provide scientists and clinicians with valuable insights into the diseases of the brain, these measures are standardized with brain autopsy to give researchers direct evidence needed to confirm diagnoses, study disease processes, and develop future treatments. Neuropathological examination can only be made through the generous gift of brain donation. A new resource website is being launched for brain tissue repositories to help…
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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 amyloid plaques. Our project will test how changes in a key regulator of OL affect its function and Alzheimer’s progression. By targeting OL dysfunction, we…
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The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has appointed Dr. Karen Lincoln, a faculty member at UCI MIND, as a co-chair of its Environmental Justice Advisory Council (EJAC). This council is dedicated to protecting California communities that face disproportionate exposure to toxic substances. To read more about Dr. Lincoln’s appointment, click here.
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UCI News highlighted a newly published study by Drs. Ricardo Santana (pictured left) and Gregory Brewer (pictured right)in the journal, GeroScience, in which they identified a combination of natural compounds that clear away harmful proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease. To read the UCI news article, click here.
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