ADRC News

The Research Education Component (REC) of the Wisconsin ADRC recently hosted a virtual meeting for high school students in UW–Madison’s Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE).

During the July 6 event, 20 high school students observed presentations from Akshay Kohli, Nathaniel Chin, MD, and Barbara Bendlin, PhD, on the functions of the human brain and causes of dementia. Students also participated in a panel discussion in which several UW researchers shared their current projects as well as...

Researchers from the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health shared new dementia research at the virtual 2020 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC), July 27 to 31.

In total, UW Alzheimer’s disease researchers delivered more than 60 presentations throughout the event.

The conference, which was originally scheduled to take place in Amsterdam, Netherlands, was streamed online for free. As the largest international meeting...

The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) is pleased to announce research funding to support feasibility studies targeting Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research.
 
Up to $150,000 in research funding is available to support feasibility studies targeting Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Proposals may range from basic or biomedical to translational, epidemiological, caregiving, or social behavioral research.
 
This is an open call to all researched within the University of Wisconsin, with priority given...

Megan Zuelsdorff, PhD, was a recent guest on the Long Live the Brains podcast, where she discussed her recent publication "Stressful Life Events and Racial Disparities in Cognition Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults" with hosts Dr. Philip Tipton and Kandice Jacobs Robinson. Dr. Zuelsdorff is an Alzheimer’s disease researcher who studies racial health disparities and dementia risk factors based on community and socioeconomic status.

Dr. Zuelsdorff shared findings from her research about the impact...

Nathaniel Chin, MD, will offer the keynote address for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s (AFA) Educating America Tour Wisconsin Virtual Conference on August 20, 2020, 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Dr. Chin, who is a geriatrician and Alzheimer’s disease researcher, will offer tips for maintaining proper brain health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additional event speakers will address elder law issues and caregiving. Mehmet Oz, MD, host of The Dr. Oz Show, will offer a special guest message.

The...

The Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) is the world's largest and most influential international meeting dedicated to advancing dementia science. This year, due to the widespread concerns about COVID-19, the Alzheimer's Association canceled the in-person conference that was scheduled for the Netherlands and moved the event online. International investigators, clinicians and care researchers will come together virtually July 27-31 to discuss the latest studies, theories and discoveries that will help bring the world closer to breakthroughs...

Howard Rowley, MD, the Joseph F. Sackett Professor of Radiology in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Radiology, received the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR) 2020 Gold Medal. The ASNR Gold Medal is awarded on the basis of both professional and personal excellence. Dr. Rowley is internationally recognized for his contributions to stroke trials, dementia research and advanced imaging techniques. As an investigator in the Wisconsin ADRC, he is an important...

Nicole Rogus-Pulia, PhD, CCC-SLP, received the Rick L. Bollinger Clinician of the Year Award from the Association of Veterans Affairs Speech-Language Pathologists (AVASLP). This award recognizes an individual who provides outstanding clinical services to communicatively or swallowing impaired veterans.

Dr. Rogus-Pulia is a Faculty Affiliate with the Wisconsin ADRC, as well as a Wisconsin ADRC Research Education Component (REC) Scholar.

Ozioma Okonkwo, PhD, has been invited to lead the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)'s new Diversity Taskforce. This taskforce will work to develop strategies to increase the rate of recruitment of under-represented minorities, analyze and publish existing ADNI data related to diversity and health disparities, and generate scientific aims relevant to health disparities for the study.

ADNI is a longitudinal multi-center study with 63 contributing sites, including the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC).

Scientists discovered a new gene associated with Alzheimer’s disease that is involved with the development of amyloid plaques in the brain. In a study by the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and published in JAMA Neurology, researchers concluded that reduced expression of the gene RBFOX1 correlated with higher levels of amyloid in the brain and decreased thinking skills in participants. 

The research team, which included Wisconsin ADRC investigators Sterling Johnson, PhD, and Corinne...