The eleventh inter-institutional meeting held from April 10-12, 2019 and hosted by the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida (MBI) was attended by approximately 120 research scientists from each of the four McKnight Brain Institutes. The eleventh inter-institutional meeting coincided with the 20th anniversary of the MBRF, which was established May 26, 1999.
The trustees of the McKnight Brain Research Foundation (MBRF), Directors and their respective research teams from the MBIs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), the University of Arizona, the University of Florida and the University of Miami gathered to discuss the research in progress and the collaboration between and among the scientists on cognitive aging, age related cognitive decline and memory loss.
Todd E. Golde, MD, PhD, Director of the MBI at the University of Florida (UF) served as the local host and Thomas Foster, PhD, the Evelyn F. McKnight Chair for Age Related Memory Loss served as the chair of the local arrangements for this important and successful meeting.
McKnight Brain Research Foundation Board of Trustees members (L-R) Richard S. Isaacson, M.D.; Robert M. Wah, M.D.; Susan L. Pekarske, M.D.; J. Lee Dockery, M.D.; Amy Porter; Michael L. Dockery, M.D.; Madhav Thambisetty, M.D., Ph.D.; Gene G. Ryerson, M.D.; and Melanie A. Cianciotto.
In addition to the scientific program, a highlight of the meeting was an address by the keynote speaker, Tony Wyss-Coray, Ph.D., a professor of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford University, who discussed research examining the composition of blood in aging and the significance and implications of these vast changes in individuals experiencing cognitive decline.
David Norton, Ph.D., UF vice president for research, and Stephen P. Sugrue, Ph.D., senior associate dean for research affairs at the UF College of Medicine and acting associate vice president for research at UF Health welcomed the attendees to the UF campus.
In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the MBRF, a panel discussion on the importance of the communication of the science surrounding cognitive aging, age related cognitive decline and memory loss was well received which featured a short introductory video spanning the 20-year history of the MBRF.
Panelists included trustee, Richard Isaacson, MD; Carol Barnes, PhD Director and the Evelyn F. McKnight Chair at the UA MBI; Jennifer Bizon, Ph.D., co-chair of the UF-MBI Education and Outreach Committee; Lynne Anderson, senior health and medical editor at The Conversation, a nonprofit that publishes essays written by academics for the lay audience and draws worldwide readership; and Michelle Jaffee, science writer at UF’s McKnight Brain Institute.
The purpose of the inter-institutional meetings is to foster the necessary collaboration to achieve successful outcomes in the understanding of cognitive aging and possible treatments of cognitive decline and memory loss. The inter-institutional meetings are held at least annually, rotating among each of the four McKnight Brain Institutes. The next meeting will be held April 1-3, 2020 at the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Miami.
Because much of the information contained in each of the scientific sessions is of a proprietary and preliminary nature, not all the power points slides accompanying each presentation are published. Anyone wishing to obtain information personally may wish to contact the individual investigator. The contact information for each investigator is listed in the roster for each respective institution in the back of the program.
