UW College of Health Sciences 2018 Research Day April 5

Members of the public and the University of Wyoming community have the opportunity to hear from experts in the field of Alzheimer’s disease research, and learn about other UW College of Health Sciences faculty and student research, during the college’s 2018 Research Day Thursday, April 5.

The College of Health Sciences’ research committee invites the public to the presentations, which will take place between 8 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Wyoming Union’s Family Room. “Research and Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia” is the day’s theme.

Keynote speakers are Dr. Jeffrey L. Cummings, a UW alumnus who is director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Nev., and Cleveland, Ohio; and Dr. J. Carson Smith, with the University of Maryland School of Public Health’s Department of Kinesiology.

Cummings, who will speak at 11 a.m., is the Camille and Larry Ruvo Chair of the Neurological Institute of Cleveland Clinic and professor of medicine (neurology) in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. He is a world-renowned Alzheimer’s researcher and leader of clinical trials.

Cummings has been recognized for his research and leadership contributions in the field of Alzheimer’s disease through the Henderson Award of the American Geriatrics Society (2006), the Research Award of the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Research Foundation (2008), and the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Award of the national Alzheimer’s Association (2008). In 2010, Cummings was honored by the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry with its Distinguished Scientist Award. In 2011, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science by UW, his alma mater. He was featured in the Gentleman’s Quarterly (June 2009) as a “Rockstar of Science.”

Smith, who will speak at 1:30 p.m., is focused on understanding how exercise and physical activity affect human brain function and mental health. His investigations use magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography to examine brain function in people at risk for Alzheimer's disease. His team of investigators and collaborators is interested in the potential for exercise to affect brain function and memory in healthy older adults at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease, as well as in patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. The ultimate goal is to provide evidence for exercise to delay conversion to Alzheimer's disease and protect against age-related cognitive decline.

In addition, Smith examines how acute and chronic exercise or physical activity may alter emotional reactivity, attention allocation and cognitive function among patients with anxiety and/or depressive mood disorders. Visit www.exerciseforbrainhealth.com/ for more information.

Along with presentations by Smith and Cummings, the top student research from each division of the College of Health Sciences will be presented. Faculty and student posters also will be on display to present collaborative research from across Health Sciences from the 2017-18 academic year.

For more information on this year’s College of Health Sciences Research Day, email Associate Professor Qin Zhu at qzhu1@uwyo.edu or Associate Professor Jenifer Thomas at jthoma41@uwyo.edu, or call (307) 766-6556.