Consolidated Fight Against Alzheimer’s
FAU researchers were recently awarded grants from the Florida Department of Health’s Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program, which supports research leading to the prevention and possible cure for Alzheimer’s, as well as better prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Elan Barenholtz, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of psychology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. He received a $99,863 grant to develop a gaze and speech behavior-based cognitive exam to assist in the detection of early-stage Alzheimer’s and related disorders.
Qi Zhang, Ph.D., a research assistant professor of biomedical science in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine. He received a $100,000 grant to investigate the connection between amyloid precursor protein and cholesterol to treat Alzheimer’s. This adds to an existing award from the National Institutes of Health to study neural growth and maturation, totaling $373,750. (Read more about Zhang’s research on page 20.)
Lawrence Toll, Ph.D., a professor of biomedical science in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, was recently named by The Web of Science as one of the most highly cited researchers. The annual list is comprised of names drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index. Data from the Web of Science, which is the world’s largest publisher-neutral index, includes nearly 1.9 billion cited references that go back to 1900.
Behnaz Ghoraani, Ph.D., an associate professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, recently earned an early-career award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant supports faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in their communities. Ghoraani received a $524,191 grant to study advanced data analytics for early detection of Alzheimer’s using a smartwatch and cellphone.
Herbert Weissbach, Ph.D., a professor emeritus in FAU’s Center for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (CMBB) in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, recently received BioFlorida’s “Lifetime Achievement Award.” The award recognizes outstanding leadership in the industry throughout an individual’s career and for significant contributions to industry growth. Weissbach joined FAU in 1997 as distinguished research professor, where he founded and served as director of the CMBB for 20 years. In 2017, he was appointed as distinguished research professor emeritus.
For a 15-year period (1961-1976), Weissbach was one of the top 300 most cited scientists in his field and has authored/co-authored more than 465 scientific publications. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a charter fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Academy of Microbiology. The annual list is comprised of names drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index.