Department of Brain Health
Our mission is to advance research and education to benefit brain health and the care and treatment of people with brain disorders across their lifespan. Our faculty specialize in several areas that range from basic to clinical research in neurodegenerative disease, stroke rehabilitation mechanisms, and new drug pipeline discoveries.
About
The department of brain health was created in the spring of 2019 and is part of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. Our department faculty adds a robust research program contributing to the interdisciplinary neuroscience PhD program. Our faculty actively investigates the treatment, detection (biomarkers), and mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases, as well as biomedical interventions for brain regeneration. Our multidisciplinary faculty forges multiple collaborations within the university and surrounding community and expands the university’s existing neuroscience and population health research initiatives.
In 2020, the department of brain health launched a new center, the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience. This center was made possible through an endowment from Joy Chambers-Grundy. In 2022, Ted and Maria Quirk established an endowment to create the Pam Quirk Brain Health and Biomarker Laboratory within the Chambers-Grundy Center and the department of brain health.
Research
The department of brain health conducts research across multiple levels to deepen our understanding of brain function and carry out meaningful, translational studies on brain health across the lifespan, with a special focus on neurodegenerative diseases. Our research involves multiple collaborators at UNLV, in Las Vegas, and throughout the world, as well as numerous students and trainees as part of the interdisciplinary neuroscience PhD program and undergraduate research assistants.
Ph.D. in Neuroscience
The doctor of philosophy in neuroscience program provides coursework and research training in neuroscience, with research mentoring spanning a range of different dimensions. This program prepares graduates to pursue post-doctoral research and independent research careers in neuroscience and related fields in academic, medical, government, or private industry settings and is offered through the collaboration of several colleges and units at UNLV.
INNOVATOR Program
The UNLV Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Innovation Incubator (INNOVATOR) Program is funded by the National Institute on Aging with the goal of engaging students (pre-doc, doctoral, post-doctoral) and junior faculty in innovation and entrepreneurship in the life sciences.
Upcoming Events
Brain Health and You: A Lunchtime Forum
Started in 2021 as a quarterly online lunch-hour meeting, Brain Health and You is a partnership between the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Brain Health and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNLV. These events, which have expanded to in-person events across the UNLV campus, cover a broad range of topics and how they intersect with brain health.
Support The Department
Your donations to UNLV make a difference. Supporting the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Brain Health enables the programs and research efforts to grow, and contribute to the campus and global community.