MINNEAPOLIS – The McKnight Brain Research Foundation and the American Brain Foundation have announced a new scholarship award that will advance research in cognitive aging to benefit people with age-related memory loss. Ten McKnight Clinical Translational Research Scholarships in Cognitive Aging and Age-related Memory Loss will be awarded for the period 2018 to 2022. The scholarships will be funded by a $1.65 million grant from the McKnight Brain Research Foundation, through the American Brain Foundation and the American Academy of Neurology.
The McKnight Clinical Translational Research Scholarships in Cognitive Aging and Age-related Memory Loss will provide early career clinicians with $150,000 over two years in stipend and research-related costs. Applications for the award are open to young investigators interested in devoting significant research time in cognitive aging and age-related memory loss. Applications for the first two scholarships will open in July 2017 with an application deadline of October 1, 2017.
Memory loss is a key factor in predicting the quality of life of the aging adult. “The population is growing daily, and by the year 2030 it is estimated that nearly 25 percent of the 360 million Americans will be 65 or older with millions suffering from some form of memory loss. Finding the answer to this important component of health can have an immense beneficial influence on every member of society in helping them age successfully,” said J. Lee Dockery, MD., chair of the McKnight Brain Research Foundation board of trustees.
The partnership between the McKnight Brain Research Foundation and the American Brain Foundation, in collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology, has enormous potential to advance the understanding, alleviation and treatment of cognitive decline and memory loss specific to the process of aging.
J. Lee Dockery, M.D., Chair Emeritus for the McKnight Brain Research Foundation
“The American Brain Foundation is thrilled to be in a partnership with the McKnight Brain Research Foundation with the goal of increasing innovative research on memory loss in aging,” said Robert C. Griggs, MD, Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, and chair of the Foundation’s Research Advisory Committee. “The Foundation has funded more than 200 Clinical Research Training Scholarships across a broad spectrum of diseases of the brain. A key to our success is our close collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology, our founder, research partner and the world’s largest association serving neurologists and the neuroscience community.”
About the McKnight Brain Research Foundation
The McKnight Brain Research Foundation promotes research and investigation of the brain in the fundamental mechanisms that underlie the neurobiology of memory with clinical relevance to the problems of age related memory loss.
About the American Brain Foundation
The American Brain Foundation brings researchers and donors together to defeat brain disease, believing that funding research across a broad spectrum of the brain and nervous system is the best hope for curing brain disease as a whole. The Foundation has granted $24 million toward research on brain disease. Learn more at americanbrainfoundation.org, or find the Foundation on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
About the American Academy of Neurology
The American Academy of Neurology is the world’s largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with 32,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient- centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.