Major New Research Institute Will Investigate Brain Disease

A major new research venture that will focus solely on advancing scientific knowledge about brain disease will be launched in San Francisco next Friday, September 11.

The new research center is the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, operated by the J. David Gladstone Institutes in partnership with UCSF. Research will be directed at greater understanding of the biology of neurological disease with the goal of speeding development of new therapies for some of the most devastating brain disorders--such as Alzheimer's disease, HIV-associated dementia, and stroke.

A NEWS CONFERENCE IS SCHEDULED AS FOLLOWS:
Friday, September 11
12:30-1:30 p.m.
***(Room opens at noon with press kits and sandwiches available for early arrivals.)
Medical Sciences Building -- Room S-118
513 Parnassus
UCSF Campus, San Francisco

PARTICIPANTS:

Lennart Mucke, MD, director of the new Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease and associate professor of neurology at UCSF.
Ann Davidson, of Palo Alto, whose husband Julian, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease nine years ago. She is author of the book, Alzheimer's, A Love Story: One Year in My Husband's Journey.
Stanley B. Prusiner, MD, professor of neurology and biochemistry at UCSF and Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine for 1997.
Bruce Miller, MD, professor of neurology at UCSF who holds the A.W. and Mary Margaret Clausen Distinguished Chair in Neurology.

B-ROLL FOR BROADCAST MEDIA:
There will be a hand-out video for broadcast media.

Research lab and clinic -- Footage of Lennart Mucke, MD, and research staff working in their laboratory at SFGH. Footage of staff and patients in the neurology clinic.
Alzheimer's family -- Footage of Alzheimer's family member Ann Davidson in her home setting and with her husband, Julian, a former Stanford professor who is a victim of the disease.

INAUGURATION SYMPOSIUM
The new Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease is being inaugurated with an all-day scientific symposium on Friday, September 11, HSW-300, 513 Parnassus Avenue on the UCSF Campus. All sessions are open to interested media.
9:00 am -- Opening remarks, Zach W. Hall, PhD, vice-chancellor for research, UCSF
9:15 am -- "The New Gladstone Institute and Its Mission," Lennart Mucke, MD, director, Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease; associate professor of neurology, UCSF
9:30 am -- "Prion Protein Biology and Disease," Stanley B. Prusiner, MD, professor of neurology and biochemistry, UCSF; 1997 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
11:00 am -- "Conversion of Neurotrophic Molecules into Risk Factors of Neurodegenerative Disease," Lennart Mucke, MD, director, Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease; associate professor of neurology, UCSF
12:30-1:30 p.m. -- News Conference announcing the new Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (Room S-118, Medical Sciences Building, 513 Parnassus)
1:30 p.m. -- "Experience and Neural Activity in the Development of the Cortex," Michael P. Stryker, PhD, W. F. Ganong professor and chair, UCSF Department of Physiology
2:15 p.m. -- "Amyloid Precursor Protein, Presenilins and the Genesis of Alzheimer's Disease," Dennis J. Selkoe, MD, co-director, Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital; professor of neurology (neuroscience), Harvard Medical School
3:30 p.m. -- "Genetic Dissection of Synaptic Transmission and Behavior," Stephen F. Heinemann, PhD, professor, Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute; adjunct professor, UC-San Diego
4:15 p.m. -- "Hippocampal Memory Formation: From Genes to Dreams," Matthew A. Wilson, PhD, assistant professor, Departments of Brain and Cognitive Science and Biology and The Center for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
5:00 p.m. -- "Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain," Marcelle Morrison-Bogorad, PhD, associate director, Neuroscience and Neuropsychology of Aging, National Institute on Aging

Media interested in covering the News Conference or the scientific symposium, please call Corinna Kaarlela in the UCSF News Office at SFGH, 415/476-3804.

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