The 4th Symposium for Learning about Alzheimer’s disease-related Medical Research at Duke and UNC

Open to researchers, clinicians, and trainees from Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, ECU, NCCU, UNC-Pembroke, and UNC-Wilmington.

Agenda

8:30AM	Check-In with Continental Breakfast
9:30AM – 10:15AM	REC Scholar Presentations Dr. Miles Bryan “In Vivo Imaging of Brain Uptake and Pharmacokinetics of Tau Immunotherapies” Dr. Melissa Walsh “Mapping Menopause-Related Synaptic Vulnerability: A Pilot SV2A-PET Study”
10:15AM – 11:15AM	Keynote Speaker: Dr. Timothy Hughes, Wake Forest “Targeting the vascular contribution to dementia”
11:15AM – 12:15PM	Poster Session 1
12:15PM – 1PM	Lunch
1PM – 1:30PM	Research Spotlight: Dr. Mohanish Deshmukh, UNC “Loss of Brain Resilience in AD: Focus on miR-29”
1:30PM – 2:15PM	Accelerated Research Talks Dr. Todd Cohen “Environmental risk factors that drive brain pathology and neurodegeneration” Dr. Priya Palta “24-Hour Movement Behaviors and Cognitive Function in the MESA 24H-ACT Study” Dr. Trong-Kha Truong “Predicting Risk of Impending Cognitive Decline in Asymptomatic Individuals with Early Alzheimer’s Disease: Insights from Cortical Diffusion MRI”
2:15PM – 2:25PM	Break
2:25PM – 3:25PM	Poster Session 2
3:25PM – 3:45PM	Clinical Insights & ADRC Data Review Drs. Heidi Roth & Kim Johnson, Core Leaders of the Clinical Core Dr. Patrick Smith, Neuropsychologist at UNC-CH
3:45PM – 4:30PM	ADRC Cycle 1 Retrospective Review Outreach, Recruitment & Engagement Core, Dr. Andrea Bozoki Data Management & Statistics Core, Dr. Sheng Luo Neuropathology Core, Dr. Jerry Wang Biomarker Core, Dr. Andy Liu
4:30PM – 4:45PM	Poster Awards & Closing Remarks

Keynote Speaker

Timothy Hughes seated indoors at a workstation, wearing a light blue button‑down shirt, with medical imaging displayed on computer monitors in the background. — Dr. Timothy Hughes

Timothy Hughes, PhD

Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Dr. Timothy Hughes is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is a neuroepidemiolgist cross-trained in cardiovascular epidemiology, aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and multimodal brain imaging at the University of Pittsburgh and Wake Forest University School of Medicine. His research focuses on untangling the relationships vascular and metabolic disorders have with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. He has published scientific papers and presented both nationally and internationally on topics related to the vascular contributions to Alzheimer’s disease.

He served on the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NANDS) Council the results of the Alzheimer’s Disease‐Related Dementias (ADRD) Summit in 2022. He currently serves on the Executive Committees for the Wake Forest Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Vascular Cognitive Disorders Professional Interest Area of the Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment.

He is currently principal investigator of several large NIH funded observation studies (ARIC and MESA) and clinical trials focused on the vascular contributions to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The goal of this research is to understand the structural, functional, and molecular connections vascular disorders have with brain health as a means to find new treatments and prevention strategies for dementia.

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