Person looking into a microscope

Department of Brain Health News

The UNLV department of brain health advances research, education, and practice to improve the care and treatment of individuals with brain disorders. Our students receive guidance from faculty who specialize in a range of areas from basic and clinical research in neurodegenerative disease, neuropsychology, and occupational therapy.

Current Brain Health News

The Sphere on the Las Vegas Strip.
Campus News | October 2, 2023

A collection of news stories highlighting expert insights, research, and academic achievement.

woman under tree poses by birds
People | October 2, 2023

The director of UNLV’s Occupational Therapy program likens her field to the nest-building skills of birds.

detail shot of man stepping over obstacle
Business and Community | September 7, 2023

UNLV faculty and students screen community members in Las Vegas, Henderson, and Pahrump.

Students at Pida Plaza on the first day of classes (Josh Hawkins, UNLV).
Campus News | September 1, 2023

A roundup of prominent news stories highlighting university pride, research, and community collaboration.

Graduation surprise
Campus News | August 1, 2023

News stories from the summer featuring UNLV students and faculty.

Closeup of a hand holding a model brain
Research | May 25, 2023

Annual review of current Alzheimer’s clinical trials reveals trends in design, therapies, outcomes, and funding surrounding work to develop new treatments.
 

Brain Health In The News

NeurologyLive
September 19, 2023

Approved in 2016, the newly updated label changes add more clarity to the use of pimavanserin, noting that patients with Parkinson disease with dementia may be eligible for treatment.

Psychiatric Times
September 19, 2023

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has made 2 updates to the packaging label for an approved treatment for Parkinson disease psychosis.

Medscape
August 24, 2023

Clinicians from Switzerland are urging caution when prescribing an anti-amyloid medication in a patient with Alzheimer's disease (AD) also taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant.

Drug Discovery World
August 23, 2023

A new immunotherapy candidate has demonstrated a trend for slowing cognitive decline in mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD), potentially offering a more accessible and cost-effective alternative to other immunotherapies.

Alzforum
August 22, 2023

With three positive and three negative Phase 3 trials of second-generation anti-amyloid antibodies to draw upon, Alzheimerologists now have more data to mine for what works and what does not. At last month’s Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam, scientists pored over gantenerumab and lecanemab data, hunting for clues of which parameters might predict success. And clues they found.

Alzheimer's News Today
August 18, 2023

93% of patients in study had an antibody response against beta-amyloid

Brain Health Experts

A renowned expert on Alzheimer's Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. 
An international expert on neurodegenerative diseases and brain health.
An expert in behavioral neuroscience with concentrations in Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

Recent Brain Health Accomplishments

August 21, 2023
Research professor and director Jeffrey Cummings, (Brain Health, Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience) and director Jamie Schwartz (Industry and Business Engagement, Economic Development) were awarded a $1.5 million INNOVATOR grant from the National Institute of Aging (NIA). This five-year grant will help the university develop…
May 1, 2023
Elizabeth Lawrence (Sociology), Samantha John (Brain Health), and Tirth Bhatta (Sociology) published an article, "Urbanicity and Cognitive Functioning in Later Life," in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring.
August 31, 2022
Doctoral student Rachel DeWald (Psychology, Brain Health) received the Spring 2022 cover artwork award for the Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal. The Office of Undergraduate Research solicits student submissions for the award to have a student-designed cover for each spring and fall issue. The competitive award intends to foster student…
May 10, 2022
Dr. Jeffrey Cummings (Brain Health) released the fifth annual Alzheimer’s Disease Drug Development Pipeline: 2022 publication. The paper reviews the current pipeline of drugs in clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It examines an updated view of clinical trials, new drugs, and offers a future outlook on drug development…
October 14, 2021
Kristine Bragg, Gwen Marchand, Jonathan Hilpert (all Educational Psychology and Higher Education), and Jeffrey Cummings (Brain Health) recently published the manuscript, "Using Bibliometrics to Evaluate Outcomes and Influence of Translational Biomedical Research Centers" in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science.
September 8, 2021
Ryan Wirt, Lauren Crew Andrew Ortiz, and Emmanuel Flores (all Neuroscience), Jefferson Kinney (Brain Health), and James Hyman (Psychology) published an article in Communications Biology entitled "Altered theta rhythm and hippocampal-cortical interactions underlie working memory deficits in a hyperglycemia risk factor model of Alzheimer’s disease…