BU ADC Professor Awarded Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant
Representatives of the Alzheimer’s Association (AA) presented Wendy Qui, MD, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and pharmacology with a check for $239,000 on Wednesday, Jan. 15 to support her research. Dr. Qui received the funding as part of the Alzheimer’s Association Investigator-initiated Research Grant Awards program. The presentation took place preceding Dr. Qui’s lecture, “Amylin and its Analogs: Friend or Foe for Alzheimer’s Disease,” part of the BU Alzheimer’s Disease Center (ADC) Spring 2014 Lecture Series.
“Dr. Qui is an outstanding member of our center and quite unique in that she is a practicing geriatric psychiatrist as well as a very productive basic science and clinical researcher,” said Robert Stern, PhD, Clinical Core director of the ADC. “This is a very important grant award, and we are deeply appreciative of the Alzheimer’s Association’s generous support of her research.”
Dr. Qiu’s research interests include identifying biomarkers and modifiable and non-modifiable factors related to Alzheimer’s disease and understanding how gene mutations interact with environment to cause diseases in the elderly. She cares for patients with dementia as well as psychiatric illnesses, including late-life depression. She also examines research participants for ADC clinical trials.
“The Alzheimer’s Association is the largest non-profit funder of Alzheimer’s Research in the world,” said Peter Ham of the Alzheimer’s Association, Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter, in making the presentation. “For us it is all about having an impact on people’s lives. Dr. Qui received one the highest evaluations by our grant reviewers, and we are very pleased to support her work.”