Dr. Jeffrey L. Cummings

Research Professor, Department of Brain Health
Director, Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience at UNLV
Expertise: Neuroscience, Neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s Disease, Drug development, Clinical trials, Neurotherapeutics

Biography

Jeffrey L. Cummings, MD, ScD, joined UNLV in 2019 as research professor within the Department of Brain Health. Dr. Cummings is the Joy Chambers-Grundy Professor of Brain Science, an endowed professorship. He is the director of the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience, a center devoted to using the tools of neuroscience and neurologic drug development to transform people’s lives.

Prior to UNLV, Dr. Cummings served as founding director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, and as director of the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, and director of the Deane F. Johnson Center for Neurotherapeutics, both at UCLA.

A world-renowned Alzheimer’s researcher and leader of clinical trials, Dr. Cummings has been recognized for his scientific and leadership contributions with the American Geriatrics Society’s Henderson Award (2006), the national Alzheimer’s Association’s Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Award (2008), the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry’s Distinguished Scientist Award (2010), and the Melvin R. Goodes Prize from the the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (2019).

Dr. Cummings’ interests embrace clinical trials, developing new therapies for brain diseases, and the interface of neuroscience and society. Dr. Cummings has published nearly 800 articles and 44 books devoted to neuroscience, Alzheimer’s disease, and clinical trials.

Dr. Cummings received the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), the International Society of CNS Drug Development’s Leadership and Achievement Award and the national Alzheimer’s Association’s Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award (2018).

Additionally, he was featured in Gentleman’s Quarterly (June 2009) as a “Rock Star of Science.” In addition to his work at UNLV, Dr. Cummings is professor of medicine (neurology) at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, and he is principal investigator/director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences-funded Center for Neurodegeneration and Translational Neuroscience.

Education

  • Sc.D., Science, University of Wyoming
  • Neurology fellowship, Boston University School of Medicine
  • Neuropathology/Neuropsychiatry fellowship, National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, London
  • M.D., Medicine, University of Washington
  • B.S., Zoology/Philosophy, University of Wyoming

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Dr. Jeffrey L. Cummings In The News

BioSpace
Axsome’s expectation that AXS-05 can win market share from Rexulti is partly built on the belief that the drug candidate has a differentiated safety profile. Rexulti has a boxed warning because of an increased risk of death. There were no deaths in the AXS-05 trials. Jeffrey Cummings, a research professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, discussed what may happen if AXS-05 avoids a boxed warning.
PM360
Axsome Therapeutics said on Monday it would seek marketing approval next year for its oral drug to treat agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, after it succeeded in three out of four late-stage studies.
Investing.com
Today, Axsome will host a conference call and webcast to discuss these topline results. Dr. Jeffrey Cummings, Vice Chair of Research at UNLV Department of Brain Health, will join the call and be available for questions.
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic Genome Center researchers have unraveled how microglia, which perform key neuroprotective activities, also can transform and drive harmful processes such as inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease.

Articles Featuring Dr. Jeffrey L. Cummings

Josh Hawkins, UNLV
Campus News | July 3, 2024

News highlights featuring UNLV students and staff who made (refreshing) waves in the headlines.

students in spring
Campus News | May 1, 2024

News highlights starring UNLV students and faculty who made local and national headlines.