By convening innovative researchers across academia, Brown’s new Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research hopes to accelerate the pace of development for treatments and cures of this devastating disease.

The fear of developing Alzheimer’s disease is so great among seniors that in medical literature it has its own acronym: FDAD. “It’s the disease that most concerns older people, even more so than cancer,” says Stephen Salloway, MD, director of the Memory and Aging Program at Butler Hospital.

The University is establishing a Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research with the support of two gifts totaling $30 million from anonymous donors. The center will combine clinical and laboratory-based research teams from the University and partner teams from Sweden to aid in the detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Linda Carpenter was named president-elect of the Society for Biological Psychiatry at the society’s annual meeting this month.

New research out of the Carney Institute for Brain Science identifies how dopamine is transmitted throughout the brain during reward-based learning, providing a new take on traditional understanding of dopamine neurotransmission.

The new Center for Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in Child and Adolescent Mental Health will be led by Mary A. Carskadon, a Brown adjunct professor affiliated with the Carney Institute. 

Alzheimer’s disease is a major public health issue that is compounded with health care disparities. In the United States, underrepresented racial and ethnic groups including Black and Hispanic Americans are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

Millions of people in the United States are suffering from substance use disorder. Approximately 60,000 people nationwide are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year. A Brown University undergraduate student is on a mission to understand the link between substance use disorder and Parkinson’s disease in an attempt to meet the country’s growing health care needs.

For one week each March, we celebrate all things brain! Brain Awareness Week, which is happening March 15 - 21 this year, is a global campaign to foster public enthusiasm and support for brain science. And the brain is an easy thing to get excited about!