UCI MIND

Congratulations to Dr. Pooyan Mobtahej, Jacob Thomas, Sarvenaz Ghaedi, and the Sajjadi lab for their achievement! 👏

Dr. Pooyan Mobtahej, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Ahmad Sajjadi's lab in the Department of Neurology, along with lab members Jacob Thomas and Sarvenaz Ghaedi, presented their project LAMON at the Stella Zhang New Venture Competition. The group received not one, but two awards:

🏆 Life Science Track Award ( $10,000)
🏆 Beall Applied Innovation Specialty Award ($10,000)

LAMON, which originated from research conducted in Dr. Sajjadi's lab, focuses on the early detection of dementia using speech-based digital biomarkers and transformer models.

Did you know there is a brand new FDA approved medication to treat agitation? UCI Health Psychiatrist, Dr. Lydia Ann will join Dr. Grill on Ask the Doc tomorrow to discuss Auvelity and any other questions you have about behavioral symptoms. Don't miss the conversation tomorrow at 12pm on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/events/994048513323621

🎥 Miss the 36th Annual SoCal Alzheimer's Disease Research Conference? You can still watch it — for FREE!

Last October, some of the brightest minds in Alzheimer's research gathered to explore the theme "Nature, Nurture & Neurodegeneration" — and now the full recording is available for everyone to watch!

🔬 This incredible lineup of experts covered it all:

🔹 Kenneth Kosik, MD (UCSB) – The Big Picture of Alzheimer's Research 🔹 Sudha Seshadri, MD (UT San Antonio) – Medical Conditions & ADRD 🔹 Jennifer Yokoyama, PhD (UCSF) – The Genetics of Alzheimer's 🔹 Jennifer Weuve, PhD (Boston University) – Pollution & Brain Health 🔹 Vivek Swarup, PhD (UC Irvine) – Epigenetics & Neurodegeneration 🔹 Yakeel Quiroz, PhD (Boston University) – Autosomal Dominant Alzheimer's 🔹 Jennifer Gatchel, MD, PhD (MGH/Harvard) – Psychiatric Symptoms in ADRD

Whether you're a researcher, caregiver, clinician, or simply someone passionate about brain health — this is a must-watch! 🧠

▶️ Watch the full recording here, completely free: 👉 https://youtu.be/ThRCRGGDoOI

📅 Recorded: October 24, 2025

🧠 Mark your calendars! The 37th Annual Southern California Alzheimer's Disease Research Conference is coming!

Join us on September 25, 2026, at the Irvine Marriott for a full day of cutting-edge research, expert speakers, and community connection.

This year's theme: "The Energy Behind Metabolism in ADRD in Research"

From FDG PET imaging to diet, exercise, gut health, GLP-1 drugs, and more — this conference brings together leading researchers from across the country to share the latest in Alzheimer's and dementia-related disease (ADRD) research.

📍 Irvine Marriott | 📅 September 25, 2026

Stay tuned for speaker spotlights and more details coming soon!

🧠 Mark your calendars! The 37th Annual Southern California Alzheimer's Disease Research Conference is coming!

Join us on September 25, 2026, at the Irvine Marriott for a full day of cutting-edge research, expert speakers, and community connection.

This year's theme: "The Energy Behind Metabolism in ADRD in Research"

From FDG PET imaging to diet, exercise, gut health, GLP-1 drugs, and more — this conference brings together leading researchers from across the country to share the latest in Alzheimer's and dementia-related disease (ADRD) research.

📍 Irvine Marriott | 📅 September 25, 2026

Visit our website to register: https://conference.mind.uci.edu

Stay tuned for speaker spotlights and more details coming soon!

On May 21st, at 1pm PT the Alzheimer's Association, The CARE Registry and the Philippine Nurses Association of America will host a virtual event, "HEALTHY MINDS, STRONG VOICES: BRAIN HEALTH IN THE ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITY". Director of Asian American Outreach, Dr. Hye-Won Shin, will speak as part of the program. To register, visit: bit.ly/4tNGiJ7

This month we are recognizing Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

🌠🏆🧠🏋🏿‍♀️Associate Professor of Neurology and UCI MIND faculty member, Dr. Crystal Glover has been honored with the 2026 Rising Star Award by the UCI School of Medicine. Dr. Glover also leads the Outreach, Recruitment and Engagement Core for the UCI ADRC. The award recognizes junior faculty whose work embodies the school's mission to discover, teach, and heal.
https://medschool.uci.edu/about-rising-stars-program

🧠🔬Research from Dr. Elizabeth Head and Dr. Vivek Swarup is shedding light on how brain cells change across the lifespan and their connection to neurodegeneration 🧠🔬

A study co-led by Dr. Head at alongside colleagues at MIT and Rutgers University found that in adults with Down’s syndrome (DS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), astrocytes, which support regulation and support in the brain, were fewer and appeared to have "shut down”. This astrocytic exhaustion may provide insight into the onset of AD in adulthood.

This builds on previous work by Dr. Swarup. Dr. Swarup’s study using spatial and single-cell transcriptomics on brain samples identified similarities between people with Down's syndrome-associated AD and sporadic AD, revealing shared neuroinflammatory and neurotoxic pathways, though effects were stronger in people with Down's syndrome-associated AD, who carried a larger burden of plaques and tangles.

👉Read the Alzforum article here: https://www.alzforum.org/news/research-news/astrocytes-downs-reactive-early-life-exhausted-near-end