BrightFocus Workshop Helps Shape Future Alzheimer’s Leaders

Scientists from all career stages gathered to discuss critical topics in the field of Alzheimer’s disease research at BrightFocus Foundation’s 16th annual Alzheimer’s Fast Track, held Oct. 2-4 in Chicago, IL. More than 60 students participated in this official pre-meeting for the Society of Neuroscience annual meeting.

The workshop featured 23 speakers who covered a broad range of topics, including machine learning applications, COVID-19, the microbiome, the eye-brain connection, brain injury, and more. Among them, Sandro Da Mesquita, PhD, an assistant professor of neuroscience at Mayo Clinic Florida. He had previously attended Alzheimer’s Fast Track in 2012 as an early-career scientist.  

“Very grateful to BrightFocus for supporting us junior researchers and funding my lab at Mayo Clinic these past years!” he shared in a tweet. “I highly recommend this fantastic Alzheimer’s Fast Track workshop to trainees and junior PIs alike!” 

Dr. Da Mesquita is an Alzheimer’s Disease Research grant recipient studying the connection between aging, genetic risk (APOE4), and lymphatic dysfunction in Alzheimer’s. He is working toward future therapeutic strategies for improving brain lymphatic drainage in Alzheimer’s disease.   

His excitement also echoed from students attending the workshop. Anastasiia Maistrenko, a research fellow at Mayo Clinic, enjoyed Alzheimer’s Fast Track enough to attend for a second time. “Honestly, it’s been super amazing,” she said. “It’s like Christmas in October.”

Stanford University’s Carla Abdelnour, PhD, felt more connected with the research community as a postdoctoral fellow after hearing senior speakers talk not only about science, but work-life balance and professional skills, too. “It’s a privilege to be in this place with such amazing speakers… to see all the different research and perspectives to fight dementia,” she said.   

At the end of each day, the students diligently prepared for their part of the workshop—a practice 20-minute grant proposal pitch to the experts. This exercise helps prepare trainees to secure grant funding for their future Alzheimer’s disease research.  

BrightFocus believes all trainees should experience career-advancing workshops like Alzheimer’s Fast Track. To foster increased access, 20 participants received diversity travel grants to attend this year’s program.  

After the workshop, BrightFocus celebrated the 2024 Alzheimer’s Disease Research grant recipients at a networking reception and awards ceremony. Two grantees with the highest-scoring proposals from BrightFocus Foundation’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Scientific Review Committee were recognized at the event. The Edward H. Koo Postdoctoral Fellowship Award for Alzheimer’s Disease Research went to Dr. Sarah Kaufman, and Dr. Giuseppina Tesco received the Distinguished Investigator Award for Alzheimer’s Disease Research.  

Next year, Society for Neuroscience and Alzheimer’s Fast Track 2025 will take place in San Diego, CA. Check the Alzheimer's Fast Track page to see when registration will open.

Expert speakers at Alzheimer’s Fast Track 2024: 

• Isabelle Aubert, PhD, Sunnybrook Research Institute
• Laura Cox, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School
• Sandro Da Mesquita, PhD, Mayo Clinic Florida
• Fred H. Gage, PhD, Salk Institute for Biological Sciences
• Crystal Glover, PhD, Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center
• Michael Heneka, PhD, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases
• Heidi Jacobs, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
• Joanna Jankowsky, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine
• Frank LaFerla, PhD, University of California Irvine
• Cristian Lasagna-Reeves, PhD, Indiana University
• Cindy Lemere, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School
• Ling Li, PhD, University of Minnesota
• Bri McWhorter, MFA, Activate to Captivate LLC
• Pete Nelson, MD, PhD, University of Kentucky
• Melissa Murray, PhD, Mayo Clinic Florida
• Melanie Samuel, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine
• Aris Sotiras, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis
• Stacey Sukoff Rizzo, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
• Malú Gámez Tansey, PhD, University of Florida
• Robert Vassar, PhD, Northwestern University
• Cheryl Wellington, PhD, University of British Columbia
• Donna Wilcock, PhD, Indiana University
• Tracy Young-Pearse, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School

About BrightFocus Foundation       

BrightFocus Foundation is a premier global nonprofit funder of research to defeat Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. Through its flagship research programs — Alzheimer’s Disease Research, National Glaucoma Research, and Macular Degeneration Research — the Foundation has awarded nearly $300 million in groundbreaking research funding over the past 51 years and shares the latest research findings, expert information, and resources to empower the millions impacted by these devastating diseases. Learn more at  brightfocus.org.