CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER AT THE ALZHEIMER’S DRUG DISCOVERY FOUNDATION (ADDF)

Dr. Howard Fillit, a geriatrician and neuroscientist, has led the ADDF since its founding, driving innovation in Alzheimer’s drug development.

He has authored or co-authored more than 300 publications and is the senior editor of Brocklehurst's Textbook of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology. Dr. Fillit is the recipient of many awards and honors including the Rita Hayworth Award from the Alzheimer's Association.

CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OF THE HARVARD AGING BRAIN STUDY

Dr. Reisa Sperling, a leading neurologist, focuses on detecting Alzheimer’s before symptoms appear.

As co-Principal Investigator of the Harvard Aging Brain Study, she uses neuroimaging and cognitive tests to identify early brain changes. Her findings have shaped global strategies for prevention trials.

Dr. Sperling is a Professor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Director of Neuroimaging for the Massachusetts ADRC at Massachusetts General Hospital.

CO-INVESTIGATOR OF THE HARVARD AGING BRAIN STUDY

Dr. Jasmeer Chhatwal studied biology and philosophy at Yale University, prior to earning his MD and PhD in Neuroscience from Emory University.

He completed his residency in Adult Neurology at Partners, followed by a clinical and research fellowship in Memory Disorders at MGH and in the laboratory of Reisa Sperling.

His research focuses on improving imaging biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), and applying functional and molecular imaging techniques to study how targeted network degeneration in AD leads to memory loss.

CO-INVESTIGATOR OF THE HARVARD AGING BRAIN STUDY

Dr. Yakeel T. Quiroz is Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.

She is the Director of the Mass General Familial Dementia Neuroimaging Lab, and the Multicultural Alzheimer’s Prevention Program-MAPP.

Her research interests include brain imaging and genomics, and early detection and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Research in her lab is focused on the study of cognitive and brain changes that predispose individuals to develop dementia later in life.

CLINICAL TRIALS DIRECTOR, MCCANCE CENTER

Dr. Bowman’s research focuses on the connections between nutrition, cognitive aging, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Notable achievements include receiving the NIH’s Dr. Ruth L. Kirschstein Award for his work on gastric acidity and cognitive impairment and a NIH K23 Career Development Award to advance individualized nutritional therapies for Alzheimer’s prevention.

His team identified and validated nutrient biomarkers as indicators of cognitive health and brain aging, leading to the first targeted nutritional intervention for dementia prevention.

HEAD, MIT COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY GROUP

Dr. Manolis Kellis is a professor of Computer Science and Computational Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

He is the head of the Computational Biology Group at MIT and is a Principal Investigator in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) at MIT.

He co-led the NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Project effort to create a comprehensive map of the human epigenome.

A major focus of his work is understanding the effects of genetic variations on human disease, with contributions to obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and cancer.

MD, PHD, ATTENDING PHYSICIAN AT BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

Dr. Raju is on faculty at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School as an Attending Physician in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and an Instructor in Pediatrics, respectively.

He is interested in better understanding how adverse childhood experiences impact health in adulthood. To study this, he uses mouse models of different environmental exposures coupled with next-generation sequencing technology to investigate how exposure to different environments influences neurodevelopment and aging.

CO-DIRECTOR, PAUL F. GLENN CENTER FOR THE BIOLOGY OF AGING

Bruce Yankner is Professor of Genetics and Neurology at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Harvard Neurodegeneration Training Program, and Co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging.

His work has contributed to understanding pathogenic mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease, Down’s syndrome and Parkinson’s disease, beginning with the initial observation that amyloid beta protein is a toxic molecule, and later with investigations into the roles of presenilin proteins, Notch and Wnt in neuronal signaling and pathology.