Page 11 - Abacoa Community News - January '22

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FAU Features from page 10 evaluated the effects of personalized, evidence-based multimodal Teacher Recognition Award. He served as chair of the American
interventions on cognition, serum/radiologic biomarkers of AD Academy of Neurology e-Learning Subcommittee where he
to make brain healthy choices in an effort to reduce risk and and calculated AD and cardiovascular risk. has led a video education interview series in collaboration
protect against cognitive decline,” said Isaacson. “I am excited Isaacson has published novel methods on using a precision with Neurology Today on COVID-19. He helped to launch the
to join FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine to help identify medicine approach in real-world clinical practice of risk bimonthly NeuroBytes online video-based education program.
patients at risk and to design personalized prevention strategies reduction for AD. He served as principal investigator (PI) for the Isaacson also is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical
to delay or possibly prevent the onset of these diseases.” APC Comparative Effectiveness Dementia & Alzheimer’s study Honor Society.
Isaacson will maintain a robust clinical research program for and has served as PI and/or co-PI on several past AD research For more information about the programs available at the
individualized prevention for patients at risk. The FAU Center for grants related to AD prevention, treatment and education. FAU Center for Brain Health, visit http://faumedicine.org/alz.
Brain Health will support basic research, clinical care, education “Alzheimer’s disease has impacted me on a personal level
and outreach. The center plans to grow the clinical team to begin including my uncle Bob who was diagnosed while I was in Student Spotlight: Gabriela
seeing patients in the second quarter of 2022. In the meantime, high school as well as my cousin who was diagnosed about
the center has launched a free online course on brain health 15 years ago,” said Isaacson. “I am passionate about applying Carina Rico
(faumedicine.org/alz/course/) for the public. a comprehensive approach toward both the prevention of
“Florida has the second highest prevalence for Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s disease, and more recently Parkinson’s and FAU undergraduate student Gabriela Carina Rico is currently
disease in the United States and is the sixth leading cause of Lewy Body dementia.” studying neuroscience and behavior with the Charles E. Schmidt
death for Floridians age 65 and older. Moreover, estimates Before his tenure at Weill Cornell Medicine, Isaacson College of Science at Jupiter. Since joining the laboratory of
project that more than 720,000 Floridians will be living with previously served as associate professor of clinical neurology, Carmen Varela, Ph.D., Rico has found endless curiosity in synaptic
Alzheimer’s by 2025,” said Sarah K. Wood, M.D., interim dean, vice chair of education, and education director of the McKnight plasticity and the mechanisms of learning and memory, mastering
FAU Schmidt College of Medicine. “Isaacson is at the forefront Brain Institute in the Department of Neurology at the University skills used to identify circuits in the brain that are responsible for
of innovative technology that optimizes patient care, Alzheimer’s of Miami Miller School of Medicine. memory consolidation; conduct stereotactic microsurgery on the
risk assessment and early intervention, and he will be a great asset He completed his residency in neurology at Beth Israel brains of animal models; and conduct behavioral experiments
to our college, university and community. We are very excited Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School, and his as an independent
to welcome him back to south Florida.” medical internship at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami scientist.
Isaacson specializes in AD risk reduction and pre-clinical Beach. Before he joined the University of Miami, he served as “I began my
AD. His clinical research has shown that individualized clinical associate medical director of the Wien Center for Alzheimer’s relationship with
management of patients at risk for AD may be an important disease and Memory Disorders at Mount Sinai. Varela after taking
strategy for optimizing cognitive function and reducing risk of Isaacson led the development of Alzheimer’s Universe her Neurobiology
dementia. He will work closely with Janet Robishaw, Ph.D., a (AlzU.org) a vast online education research portal on AD of Learning and
leader in functional and translational genomics and the senior (more than 2 million unique visitors) with results published in Memory course in
associate dean for research and chair of the Department of the Journal of the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease; Journal my first semester
Biomedical Science in the Schmidt College of Medicine. of Communication in Healthcare, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: at FAU after
“I am looking forward to collaborating with Isaacson Translational Research & Clinical Interventions; and Neurology. transferring from
on multi-disciplinary approaches that will enable us “I believe that through effective medical communication Emmanuel College in Boston,” said Rico. “I expressed to Varela
to better understand basic biological mechanisms and strategies, harnessing the broad reach of online, print and my desire to continue exploring my passion for science and the
cultivate new strategies to combat Alzheimer’s disease broadcast media can be an exceptional tool to disseminate brain within the lab – the work that we do in the thalamus lab is
in South Florida and beyond through patient-centered information about neurology and preventative medicine to the important for identifying circuits in the brain that are responsible
research and discovery,” said Robishaw. general public,” said Isaacson, who has been quoted in several for memory consolidation.”
Prior to joining FAU, Isaacson served as director of the hundred news stories and featured by every major television Rico was recently awarded a Summer Undergraduate
Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic (APC), Weill Cornell Memory outlet and in print, including cover stories on the 2016 U.S. News Research Fellowship (SURF) and will work towards completing
Disorders Program, assistant dean of faculty development, and & World Report “Best Hospitals Edition,” among others, totaling an honors thesis in Varela’s laboratory working to further
associate professor of neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine and more than 300 million impressions. investigate what happens when the pathways of the thalamus
New York-Presbyterian. With his robust clinical practice and Isaacson is the author of numerous publications and his are inhibited during critical sleep consolidation windows.
broad background in computer science, m-Health, biotechnology research in neurology and medical education has been presented “Diseases of the brain can occur spontaneously just as they
and web-development, he led interwoven clinical research at scientific meetings nationally and internationally and was
and technology teams at the APC. Isaacson’s team rigorously awarded the 2009 American Academy of Neurology A.B. Baker FAU Features on page 14