The McKnight Brain Research Foundation (MBRF) today announced it has elected Allison Brashear, M.D., M.B.A., dean of the University of California Davis School of Medicine, to its Board of Trustees. As an internationally known researcher in the field of neuroscience, Dr. Brashear’s background and experience will help move the Foundation closer to its goal of better understanding and alleviating age-related cognitive decline and memory loss.
As dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, Dr. Brashear oversees one of the nation’s top research, academic and medical training institutions, which is ranked No. 7 nationally by U.S. News and World Report in primary care and No. 40 in research.
Before joining UC Davis, Dr. Brashear was professor and chair of the Department of Neurology at Wake Forest School of Medicine, where she led a team whose research and clinical innovations led to new models of neurological care. At Wake Forest, she was also an active clinician and held the Walter C. Teagle Endowed Chair of Neurology.
Dr. Brashear has a long history of leadership in the field of neurology and serves on the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee. She has also served on the boards of the American Neurological Association and the American Academy of Neurology, where she was instrumental in crafting a leadership program for women.
Dr. Brashear is an international expert in ATP1A3-related diseases, a spectrum of rare neurologic disorders, and has continuously been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 2008. She was also the co-principal investigator on the NIH-funded NeuroNext and has served as the principal investigator on more than 50 clinical trials, leading to three FDA-approved medications.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Brashear as the newest member of our Board of Trustees,” said Michael L. Dockery, M.D., Chair, McKnight Brain Research Foundation. “Her research and innovation in the field of neurology, together with her passion for patient-centered care, make her a perfect addition to the MBRF Board of Trustees as we work to uncover new research to better understand how to prevent cognitive decline and memory loss associated with the aging process.”
With cognitive changes due to the normal aging process affecting nearly 87 percent of people age 65 and older, the McKnight Brain Research Foundation is the nation’s only private foundation dedicated exclusively to solving the mysteries of the aging brain and helping people achieve a lifetime of cognitive health. The Foundation supports research specifically targeting cognitive aging, age-related cognitive decline and memory loss, and works to educate the public on the steps that can be taken to maintain cognitive and brain health.
“I am honored to join the McKnight Brain Research Foundation,” said Dr. Brashear. “The foundation’s mission aligns with my lifelong commitment to improve brain health. As a neurologist and researcher, I know that understanding and alleviating age-related cognitive decline and memory loss is essential to helping our communities age successfully.”
Dr. Brashear also holds an M.B.A. focused on health-sector management and has expertise in health policy, hospital-clinical integration, academics and research. She is a career-long champion of inclusion and patient-centered care and has worked actively to help advance women in leadership across academic medicine.
Dr. Brashear joins the MBRF’s current Board of Trustees, including Dr. J. Lee Dockery, Gainesville, FL; Dr. Michael L. Dockery, Chair, Charlotte, NC; Dr. Richard S. Isaacson, New York, NY; Dr. Gene Ryerson, Gainesville, FL; Dr. Susan L. Pekarske, Tucson, AZ; Dr. Madhav Thambisetty, Vice Chair, Silver Spring, MD; Dr. Robert Wah, McLean, VA; and Melanie Cianciotto, Corporate Trustee, Orlando, FL, in working to improve quality of life for the public by alleviating age-related memory loss.
