Navigating Recent Advances in Alzheimer’s Disease: Expert Insights on Neuropathological Diagnostic Markers and the Clinical Potential of Novel Disease-Modifying Therapies

Faculty

Richard S. Isaacson, MD (Chair)
Adjunct Associate Professor
Department of Neurology
Weill Cornell
New York, NY
Director, Center for Brain Health
Director, Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic
Schmidt College of Medicine
Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL

Richard S. Isaacson, MD, serves as Director of the Center for Brain Health and Director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic (APC) at Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine in Boca Raton. He previously served as Director of the APC at the Weill Cornell Memory Disorders Program, Assistant Dean of Faculty Development, and Associate Professor of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine & NewYork-Presbyterian. He remains as Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology in the Department of Neurology at Weill Cornell. Prior to that, Dr Isaacson served as Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology, Vice Chair of Education, and Education Director of the McKnight Brain Institute in the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami (UM) Miller School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School, and his medical internship at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, FL. Prior to joining UM, Dr Isaacson served as Associate Medical Director of the Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders at Mount Sinai.

A graduate of the accelerated 6-year BA/MD program at the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Medicine, Dr Isaacson specializes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk reduction in patients with no cognitive complaints and a family history of the disease, and pre-clinical AD. His clinical research has shown that individualized clinical management of patients at risk for AD dementia may be an important strategy for optimizing cognitive function and reducing dementia risk. Dr Isaacson has published novel methods on using a precision medicine approach in real-world clinical practice of AD risk reduction. He served as principal investigator (PI) for the APC Comparative Effectiveness Dementia & Alzheimer’s study, and has served as PI and/or co-investigator on a myriad of past grants related to AD prevention, treatment, and education. He has also focused on using whole genome sequencing to assess polygenic risk and further refine care.

Dr Isaacson previously served as Neurology Residency (12 years) and Clerkship Director (5 years), and his career in education spans undergraduate (student), graduate (resident/fellow), and continuing (faculty) medical education, as well as patient, caregiver, and community education/outreach. He led the development of Alzheimer’s Universe (AlzU.org), a vast online education research portal on AD (> 2 million unique visitors since 2014), with results published in the Journal of the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease, Journal of Communication in Healthcare, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, and Neurology. Dr Isaacson served as Chair of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) e-Learning Subcommittee where he has led a video education interview series in collaboration with Neurology Today on COVID-19, and helped to launch the bimonthly “NeuroBytes” online video-based education program. He also directed a multi-institution e-Learning collaboration on Faculty Development (wcmfd.org), led several online education research projects (including a CME course on AD risk reduction via AlzU.org/CME, and brain health courses in partnership with comedic actor Seth Rogen for high school, college, and medical students via AlzU.org/HFCU, which was published in Neurology), chaired the AAN Undergraduate Education Subcommittee working group in dementia, and received the AAN Education Research Grant for “Evaluating the effectiveness of Continuum: Dementia as a teaching tool for medical students”, also published in Neurology. In 2012, he led a collaborative education and health information technology research initiative at Weill Cornell, Harvard, UM, U. Pennsylvania, and U. Rochester published in Neurology. Dr Isaacson believes that through effective medical communication strategies, harnessing the broad reach of online, print, and broadcast media can be an exceptional tool to disseminate information in Neurology and Medicine. He has been quoted in hundreds of news stories and featured by major television (including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and FOX) and print (such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, AARP, Discover, O, and Reader’s Digest) outlets, including cover stories on the 2016 US News & World Report Best Hospitals Edition, Psychology Today, and others, totaling over 300 million impressions.

With a robust clinical practice and broad background in computer science, m-Health, biotechnology, and web development, Dr Isaacson is committed to using technology and comprehensive physical and cognitive assessments to optimize patient care, AD risk assessment, and early intervention. Leading distinct, yet interwoven, clinical research and technology teams, the APC has studied digital biomarkers using a wearable biosensor, and is committed to rigorously evaluating the effects of personalized, evidence-based multi-modal interventions on cognition, serum/radiologic biomarkers of AD and calculated AD, and cardiovascular risk. Considering his family history, including his Uncle Bob (diagnosed with AD while he was in high school) and his dad’s cousin (diagnosed over 10 years ago), he passionately believes in a comprehensive approach toward both AD treatment and prevention. Dr Isaacson is the author of numerous publications, his research in neurology and medical education has been presented at scientific meetings nationally and internationally, and he was awarded the 2009 AAN A.B. Baker Teacher Recognition Award. He is also a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.

Charles P. Vega Jr, MD
Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Family Medicine
Assistant Dean for Culture and Community Education
UC Irvine School of Medicine
Executive Director
UC Irvine Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community
Irvine, CA

Dr Charles P. Vega Jr is Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Assistant Dean for Culture and Community Education at the University of California (UC), Irvine, School of Medicine. He also serves as Executive Director of the UC Irvine Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC). Dr Vega earned his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison before completing a family medicine residency at UC Irvine. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr Vega’s academic interests are focused on access to quality, compassionate medical care for underserved populations, and the development of training programs to promote this vision of health care. In 2014, he was awarded a Macy Faculty Scholarship to improve patient-centered health education at UC Irvine. Dr Vega has been invited to present at over 200 regional and national conferences on medical topics, medical education, and diversity and cultural effectiveness. He has authored over 1000 continuing medical education reviews and is a member of the California Medical Association, National Hispanic Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the California Academy of Family Physicians. Dr Vega serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Family Practice and Women’s Health, and the Family Medicine Advisory Board of Medscape, Inc. He is also a reviewer for the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine and American Family Physician.