Jeffrey Kaye earns award to advance digital technology for Alzheimer’s
Jeffrey Kaye, M.D., professor of neurology in the OHSU School of Medicine and director of the Layton Aging & Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, has been awarded $884,000 to accelerate the pioneering application of digital technology to improve the quality of life for people with Alzheimer's and related dementias.
Kaye is among the first recipients of the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Digital Pilot Award from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center, or NACC, and Gates Ventures, the private office of philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Kaye and colleagues were selected for the project titled, “EFFECT-AD: Everyday Frequent Functional Evaluation with Crosscutting Technology for AD.” This initiative aims to utilize motion-activity bracelets to gain a comprehensive, unbiased insight into the daily function of people with or at risk for dementia in their natural surroundings.
“These real-world measures of day-to-day functional activity are the most significant indicators of independent aging for individuals living with or at risk of AD/ADRD, as well as for their caregivers,” Kaye said. “Therefore, the digital assessments will yield the most meaningful outcome measures for all our clinical studies and therapeutic trials.”
Kaye’s team represents three Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers and one private industry partner: the OHSU Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, the University of California at San Francisco Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, the South Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Center, and Panoramic Digital Health. Key team members include Zach Beattie, Ph.D., of OHSU, Michael Au-Yeung, Ph.D., of OHSU, Adam Staffaroni, Ph.D., of UCSF, Sarah Horn, M.D., of UT Health San Antonio, and Derek Hill, Ph.D., of Panoramic Digital Health.
“I’m excited to see how the NACC digital pilot program will contribute to leveraging digital technologies that can potentially lead to early diagnosis, monitoring, and enabling ways to improve quality of life for people suffering from Alzheimer’s and related dementias,” said Niranjan Bose, Ph.D., Managing Director of Health & Life Sciences at Gates Ventures.
Salman Hirani selected for Mayday Pain & Society Fellowship
Salman Hirani, M.D., an assistant professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at the OHSU School of Medicine, has been selected as a 2024 fellow of the Mayday Pain & Society Fellowship: Communicating Science & Improving Care. The fellowship selects experts in anesthesiology, nursing, pediatric care, and psychology from the United States and Canada. The program focuses on improving pain care through communication and advocacy.
“The Mayday Fund Board of Directors congratulates the newest class of Fellows,” said Caroline N. Sidnam, a Mayday Fund board member. “These leaders from the fields of basic science, medicine, psychology and beyond are already making it possible for us to advance care for many who experience pain every day. We trust that from the Fellowship training they will receive skills to spread accurate, articulate information to their peers as well as to the public.”
Hirani and other fellows will attend a workshop in Washington, D.C., from October 6 to 9 to learn effective communication and advocacy skills for pain care and management. After the workshop, they will receive personalized coaching to help them achieve their advocacy goals.
Paula Sanchez Molina awarded BrightFocus Foundation Alzheimer's Disease Fellowship
Paula Sanchez Molina, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow in the Bahareh Ajami lab, has been awarded by the BrightFocus Foundation Alzheimer's Disease Fellowship, a $200,000 award. Sanchez Molina’s project aims to elucidate whether specific proinflammatory immune cells in the blood can contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease.
“The role of the peripheral immune system in this disease has not been thoroughly investigated,” Sanchez Molina said. Her project aims to bridge this gap by studying the potential communication between specific disease-related blood immune cells and microglia — the immune cells of the brain — during the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
“This fellowship will allow me to make significant contributions to the development of potential new biomarkers and therapies for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease,” she said. “Furthermore, this award will advance my career as a neuroimmunologist.”
OHSU Family Medicine Interest Group earns American Academy of Family Physicians Program of Excellence Award
The American Academy of Family Physicians has selected Oregon Health & Science University Family Medicine Interest Group as a 2024 Program of Excellence Award winner. OHSU is among 18 winners total, and was selected for the “excellence in impact” category. FMIGs are chosen for their work to promote the specialty of family medicine at their medical schools and in their communities.
FMIGs are medical school-sponsored, student- and faculty-run organizations that give students a chance to learn more about the specialty of family medicine through workshops, leadership development, community service and on-the-ground clinical experiences. They equip students with leadership skills that will help them in their future practices and communities.
“We were honored and humbled to receive a Program of Excellence award for Impact by the American Academy of Family Physicians,” said Sarah Skog, M.D., assistant professor of family medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine. “This accolade is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our FMIG leads to share their love of Family Medicine with peers and youth across the state of Oregon. Through efforts lead by our FMIG, we continue to inspire future family physicians who will undoubtedly strengthen primary care across the state of Oregon and beyond. I am beyond proud to support this inspirational team of young leaders.”
The Program of Excellence Awards recognize FMIGs for their efforts to promote interest in family medicine careers at a time when family physicians are in especially high demand for their comprehensive primary care expertise. Through FMIGs, students also form supportive relationships with peers and mentors, which will help them throughout their career in medicine.
“Investing in our country’s future family physicians through organizations like FMIGs means we’re also investing in the future of health care. The FMIGs we honor this year have unequivocally strengthened primary care and will undoubtedly help patients and communities,” said Margot Savoy, M.D., M.P.H., FAAFP, AAFP’s senior vice president, education, inclusiveness and physician well-being. “This year’s FMIG Program of Excellence Award winners are doing the incredible and rewarding work of improving our health care system and fostering the next generation of diverse primary care physicians. I can’t wait to see what they do next.”
New scorecard offers state-by-state ranking of women’s health and reproductive care
The OHSU Center for Evidence-based Policy, or CEbP, has been working behind the scenes, leading technical efforts to select measures and collect and analyze data, to “score” states on a series of focused scorecards. In July, the 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care was released by the Commonwealth Fund. CEbP staff provided foundational data and analytic support for the scorecard, and organized and staffed the Technical Expert Panel that informed the measures used in the report.
The scorecard findings raise concerns over the state of women’s health care and the ripple effects of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has significantly altered access to critical reproductive health care services.
Recognize team or individual achievements with OHSU Accolades
Every day, OHSU members do amazing things. We want to celebrate the significant achievements of OHSU members, units and programs, such as awards, grants, appointments, publications and public recognitions. Periodically, we publish these on OHSU Now and OHSU News: Awards and Accomplishments to celebrate with all 27,000 of our members and our community. Nominate yourself, a colleague or any OHSU member using this Accolades Smartsheet form. Submissions will be edited for length and clarity.