University of South Carolina Brain Health

11/13/2025

Did you know that there are 14 risk factors *you can change starting right now* to reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s or a related dementia? Brain Health’s own Healthcare Executive Director Brad Cole will discuss what you can do at each stage of life - early, middle and late - to reduce your dementia risk. This virtual talk takes place Nov. 13 from 9-10 a.m. Sign up now: https://bit.ly/47IaFai

11/11/2025

Thanksgiving can be delicious and good for your brain! All November, we’re sharing our favorite recipes so you can put these mouth-watering dishes on your menu! 🦃🍗
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Blueberry Baked Oatmeal, contributed by Celeste Blackmon, one of our Speech-Language Pathologists, can be prepared ahead of time, saving you time in the morning. It also reheats well, either as an entire dish or in individual servings—great for when you have overnight guests and everyone leisurely arises for the day. This recipe can be doubled easily to feed a crowd. You can also make it ahead of time and freeze in individual pieces for later.
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🫐Blueberry Baked Oatmeal🫐
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🥄Ingredients
3 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of sea salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup of pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
½ cup of milk
1 pint of blueberries
1 cup of chopped pecans
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🗒Instructions
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients (oats, baking soda, cinnamon and sea salt). Mix well.
• In another bowl, combine the two eggs, lightly beaten, maple syrup, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix using a spoon or spatula. Fold the nuts and the blueberries into the batter, taking care to be gentle. You do not want to overwork the blueberries—you want them to stay whole.
• Grease a 9 x 9 baking pan. Pour in the oatmeal mixture and spread it evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the center is set. Allow it to cool for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.
• Serve the dish as-is or with a drizzle of maple syrup or dollop of plain Greek yogurt

11/10/2025

Did you know that education, strength and exposure to pollution can affect your likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s or another dementia? If you’re interested in learning about the 14 risk factors you can change to reduce your risk of developing these diseases, sign up for this virtual talk taking place Nov. 13 from 9-10 a.m. Our own Healthcare Executive Director Brad Cole will discuss what you can do at each stage of life - early, middle and late - to reduce your dementia risk. Sign up now: https://bit.ly/47IaFai

11/10/2025

For this National Nurse Practitioner Week, we’d like to show our sincerest appreciation to Selma Saunders and Rob McMahon. Selma and Rob shine brightly in everything they do. Their dedication, compassion and curiosity inspire everyone around them. They tackle challenges head-on and lift spirits with their kindness and patience. And the patients and the caregivers they meet with absolutely adore them! We look forward to realizing our shared USC Brain Health dreams, now and well into the future, with them at our sides.

11/10/2025

Thank you to Governor McMaster for this important declaration. The AARP estimates the number of South Carolinians serving as family caregivers to be 730,000. Those caregivers provide about 610 million hours of unpaid care at an estimated economic value to our state of over $7.6 billion annually.

Governor McMaster has declared November as National Family Caregivers Month.

During National Family Caregivers Month, we recognize the love and sacrifice of more than 50 million Americans providing crucial care and medical assistance to parents, children, siblings and other loved ones, ensuring their health and dignity.

The work that all caregivers do is a profound service to their families and our nation, but they are still too often unseen and undervalued.

Visit https://aging.sc.gov/programs-initiatives/family-caregiver-support to find family caregiver support.
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El gobernador McMaster ha declarado noviembre como el mes nacional de cuidadores familiares.

Durante el mes nacional de cuidadores familiares, reconocemos el amor y sacrificio de más de 50 millones de estadounidenses que brindan atención crucial y asistencia médica a padres, niños, hermanos y otros seres queridos, asegurando su salud y dignidad.

El trabajo que hacen todos los cuidadores es un profundo servicio a sus familias y a nuestra nación, pero todavía son demasiado a menudo invisibles y subestimados.

Visita https://aging.sc.gov/programs-initiatives/family-caregiver-support para encontrar apoyo para cuidadores familiares.

11/01/2025

Do not miss!

✔️ Do you love heartfelt documentaries that illuminate difficult topics?
✔️ How about free movie screenings?
💟 If you answered yes to the questions above, we have just the thing!

Join us one week from today for a free screening of The Mama Joe Project documentary My Mama Joe: Hope and Help at The Nickelodeon. Bonus: USC VP for Research Julius Fridriksson will share his thoughts as part of the discussion panel after the film—along with WIS TV's Judi Gatson, filmmaker Dr. Herb Caldwell and local dementia educator Dr. Macie Smith, The Social Gerontologist.

📅 Friday, November 7
🕰️ Noon to 2:00 p.m.
📍 The Nickelodeon Theater on Main Street
💜 Register for free: https://www.mamajoeproject.com/southcarolina
🫂 Sponsored by University of South Carolina Brain Health

10/29/2025

USC Brain Health is working with WIS TV to put the spotlight on Alzheimer’s and dementia care. Please join us for a free screening of the moving documentary, “My Mama Joe: Hope and Help,” Nov. 6 at Claflin in Orangeburg and Nov. 7 at the Nickelodeon in Columbia. Register: https://www.mamajoeproject.com/southcarolina

10/28/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined team USC Brain Health for this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s! We’re so happy to have the support of our families, friends and the USC GABA (Graduate Association for Brain Awareness) students! We look forward to this walk every year because we get to spend quality time together, meet people who share the same vision for ending Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and come together for a cause we care so deeply about.

10/23/2025

“It was such an honor to be the keynote speaker at USC’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s Aging and Alzheimer’s Symposium,” says Dr. Leonardo Bonilha, neurologist, USC School of Medicine Columbia Senior Associate Dean for research and USC Brain Health Director. “Bringing together researchers from multiple disciplines is critical to making advancements in detecting, managing, treating, and ultimately finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.”