What if the body had a shuttle service to deliver medication directly to the brain? One research team believes they might have a way to make it a reality.

Peter Davies, MD, PhD, deputy director at the Texas A&M Health Institute of Biosciences and Technology, and his colleagues have been awarded a Dementia and Alzheimer’s Initiative (DARI) seedling grant from Texas A&M Health for their proposal to deliver medication past the blood-brain barrier, a persistent obstacle in neuroscience.

Salk has recruited Ian Guldner as a new assistant professor, bringing fresh momentum to foundational research on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Guldner’s lab will identify cellular communication mechanisms that regulate brain aging and disease, and target those interactions to preserve brain health. His recruitment was enabled by a gift from the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund and will create new opportunities for collaboration across Salk in neurodegeneration, immunobiology, and aging.

New research has uncovered how a protein strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease plays a critical role in forming long-lasting memories - opening up new directions for future dementia treatments. The study shows that tau - a protein widely associated with memory loss in dementia - is essential for organising and stabilising memories so they persist over time.