5 Ways UC San Diego Is Transforming Alzheimer’s Research and Care

“Our decades of NIH‑funded work, coupled with a world‑class multidisciplinary clinic and our leadership in translational science, put us in a unique position not just to study this disease, but to change its trajectory for future generations. While the disease can seem insurmountable, there’s also so much opportunity in this field.”

Here are five ways UC San Diego is leading the charge in studying, diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s disease:

Empowering Early Detection

Accurate diagnosis is the gateway to effective treatment, and UC San Diego investigators are developing new ways to detect Alzheimer’s earlier and more precisely. Ongoing work includes validating blood-based biomarkers in hispanic and latino populations, which could lead to simple and accessible blood tests to detect Alzheimer’s early in underserved populations, and introducing advanced imaging techniques to reveal subtle structural brain changes.

Researchers at UC San Diego are also developing new technologies to detect Alzheimer’s biomarkers more easily, such as a handheld electronic device with potential for detecting markers of both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Revolutionizing Treatment with Breakthrough Therapeutics

Researchers at UC San Diego are advancing next-generation therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer’s disease, including gene therapies that reprogram diseased brain cells to preserve function and new drugs that remove toxic proteins from the brain. UC San Diego scientists are also exploring the potential of repurposing existing drugs against Alzheimer’s disease, which could provide a faster route to clinical trials because these drugs have already been tested for safety. To find tomorrow’s Alzheimer’s drugs, new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, are enabling the discovery of previously-unknown treatment targets, which could provide more options to personalize Alzheimer’s treatment in the future.

Based on promising discoveries in the lab, researchers at UC San Diego are showing how lifestyle modifications can slow or potentially halt Alzheimer’s disease progression. For example, the TREAD trial at UC San Diego is a clinical study exploring whether intermittent fasting could reduce sleep disturbances, cognitive decline and pathology in those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or early to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

Leading Long-Term, Multidimensional Studies

Few conditions require the scope of observation that Alzheimer’s does, and UC San Diego’s 40‑year record of continuous NIH funding has made such a long-term perspective possible. UC San Diego Alzheimer’s studies have followed cohorts of patients for decades, observing how Alzheimer’s develops and progresses over time to identify new ways to slow or halt this progression.

Leveraging this expertise, the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study was established in 1991 through an agreement between UC San Diego and the NIA. It aims to evaluate potential new drugs that can benefit Alzheimer’s patients. More recently, the Women Inflammation and Tau study, which began in 2020, is using brain imaging, cognitive tests, biological fluid testing and wearable technologies to explore the factors that contribute to Alzheimer’s in women, who are more likely than men to develop the disease. These and other long-term efforts enrich our understanding of the disease’s complexity and variety, opening up new possibilities for targeted interventions.

Setting the Standard in Integrated Alzheimer’s Care

UC San Diego’s Center for Brain Health and Memory Disorders, located at the UC San Diego Health East Campus Office Building, offers a “one-stop” model for patients with age-related cognitive impairment, designed to reduce barriers such as long travel distances and complex care coordination. The center co-locates five dementia fellowship-trained neurologists alongside dementia-specialized neuropsychologists, a geriatrician, a geriatric psychiatrist, nurses, a nurse practitioner, medical assistants and a dedicated social worker.

To better integrate the latest research into its care, the clinic also shares space with the SMADRC, giving patients ready access to clinical trials and new studies that advance cutting-edge treatments, as well as center-funded quality-of-life programs. Currently, the clinic serves about 3,500 patients, with about 100 receiving monoclonal antibody infusions, which are the first class of FDA-approved disease‑modifying Alzheimer’s therapeutics and include drugs like Lecanemab (Leqembi) and Aducanumab (Aduhelm).

The clinic also works to address the social and emotional toll of Alzheimer’s disease through robust caregiver and patient support groups, often described as “life-saving,” by participants. These support groups complement medical services to create a compassionate, multidisciplinary hub that integrates research and care in ways few institutions can match.

Building an Alzheimer’s‑Ready Workforce

Through the federally funded Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, UC San Diego is training health professionals, caregivers and community advocates — especially in rural, tribal and underserved areas — to recognize, diagnose and manage Alzheimer’s and related dementias. By expanding skills and resources, the program ensures that innovations developed in labs and clinics reach the communities most in need. UC San Diego’s Stein Institute for Research on Aging also provides training opportunities to medical students, early-career faculty and postdoctoral scholars focused on aging and age-related diseases, including Alzheimer’s.