Sanders-Brown Center on Aging - the Mind Matters podcasts: Recent Episodes
James Haggie MSW CSW
At the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging (SBCoA) basic and clinical scientists work together to improve the health of the older adults in Kentucky and beyond through research dedicated to understanding the aging process and age-related brain diseases, and education, outreach, and clinical programs that promote healthy brain aging.
Over the past three decades, SBCoA has flourished and has emerged as one of the nation's leading centers on aging.
Kelly Parsons, MSW CSW, gives us an introduction to the social work aspect of working in the clinic, detailing some common themes the social workers hear, as well as offering some tips gained from her practice experience. As a resource, Kelly recommends https://www.nia.nih.gov and http://bgaaail.com
With a novel approach to dementia care, especially concerning the realm of behaviors related to living with dementia, Dr. Elizabeth Rhodus developed Harmony at H. O. M. E, an Occupational Therapy based intervention to help caregivers provide care for their loved ones in the home. For further information, please see https://www.ccts.uky.edu/participate-research/current-studies/are-you-caring-someone-dementia
From the lab website of Dr. Lance Johnson: “Research in our lab is dedicated to understanding the role of the Alzheimer's disease risk factor Apolipoprotein E (APOE) in cerebral metabolism. With a special focus on glia and their contributions to neurodegeneration, we employ a variety of transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches (from cells to mice to humans) in order to identify early-life changes in metabolism associated with APOE. Our lab's overarching goal is to discover new therapeutic targets that will allow us to reprogram metabolism in individuals at-risk for Alzheimer's Disease in order to enhance cognitive resilience and to extend the brain’s health span.” For further information, please see http://www.ljohnsonlab.com
Dr. Abner, recognized as a Distinguished Alumni Leader from the UKY College of Public Health, gives us personal historical perspective, highlights her incredibly important research, and discusses the links between Public Health and research and the aging brain. For more information on LATE and quadruple misfolded proteins, view the article at https://uknow.uky.edu/research/it-s-not-just-alzheimer-s-disease-sanders-brown-research-highlights-form-severe-dementia
Maranda Brooks from our clinic location gives us a walk through her history, her education, her work at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, and wraps up with a message on why our participants and partners in research can seek us out with confidence. Information in currently ongoing clinical trials at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging scan be found at https://sbcoa.med.uky.edu/adc-participate-study
Dr. Bahrani returns to Podcasting with me, this time in his native Arabic. We had discussed the potential influence on young scientists and on the Arabic speaking communities at our first recording, so today we make that a reality. We hope that both information and inspiration can be found in the words of Dr. Bahrani!
In this episode, Barbara Martin gives us a rundown on clinical trial participation, an overview of what a day in the clinic entails for our partners on research, her time at the University of Kentucky, and most importantly, what is important about why we would want to be involved in research for ourselves. Barbara recommends taking a look at our list of current and enrolling clinical trials at https://sbcoa.med.uky.edu/adc-participate-study, and please don’t hesitate to call us at (859) 323-5550 with any questions!
In this episode, Dr. Donna Wilcock gives us some background on her research interests, her academic history, and discusses her latest work with biomarkers. In the context of unlocking the neuropathology of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD), biomarkers are becoming critical as they highlight potential areas for both areas of interest within the brain and for developing potential intervention strategies. For further reading, Dr. Wilcock suggests https://www.alzforum.org/news/conference-coverage/scientists-say-late-worsens-cognitive-decline https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(21)00361-6/fulltext and https://markvcid.partners.org
Assistant Professor Dr. Maj-Linda Selenica is a world renown research scientist at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, and was drawn to the center because of the female leadership within the center coupled with the centers international reputation. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, and she is especially proud of her role in the development of the next generation of research scientists here at the University of Kentucky. In the news article, shared below, Dr. Selenica highlights the importance of her research. https://uknow.uky.edu/research/sanders-brown-research-discovers-new-pathway-tdp-43-related-dementias
In this episode, Dr. Ahmed Bahrani gives us his perspective on imaging and it’s importance to aging research. Imaging the aging brain in the quest for answers is clearly a work of heart for Dr. Bahrani, and his passion for his field shines through during this podcast. The importance of imaging data that highlights changes in the brain, in concert with longitudinal data gathered from clinical trials (blood biomarkers, cognitive performance testing) cannot be understated, and we express our profound respect and gratitude for our research volunteers who give their time to us so we may work toward treatments and a cure for Alzheimer’s and dementia. For further information, Dr. Bahrani recommends copy and pasting the following links - https://youtu.be/g-jj4KrmYPI , https://youtu.be/DZTXa4qerI4 , https://youtu.be/aQZ8tTZnQ8A , and https://youtu.be/3CCfr_KD-84
In this, the first episode from our new podcast series, the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging introduces you to Keisha Jones, clinical research administrator/coordinator at our clinic facility in Lexington, Kentucky. At the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging (SBCoA) basic and clinical scientists work together to improve the health of the older adults in Kentucky and beyond through research dedicated to understanding the aging process and age-related brain diseases, and education, outreach, and clinical programs that promote healthy brain aging.
Over the past three decades, SBCoA has flourished and has emerged as one of the nation's leading centers on aging. Major foci of the Center are basic and applied research in Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders.