UCSF Memory and Aging Center

03/09/2026

Tau PET scans allow clinicians and researchers to visualize Alzheimer’s disease biology in the living brain. But sometimes the scans may show signals that are not caused by tau tangles alone.

New UCSF research, co-led by Gil Rabinovici, MD, and Lea Gringberg, MD, PhD, found that other biological processes — such as iron deposits and markers of neuroinflammation — can influence signals from a commonly used tau PET tracer.

By combining PET imaging with detailed postmortem brain mapping and AI-enabled analysis, the team showed how these factors may lead scans to “light up” more broadly than expected.

The findings could help clinicians interpret tau PET scans more accurately and improve how they are used for diagnosis, prognosis and Alzheimer’s clinical trials.

Tau proteins play an important role in our normal brain function, mainly by helping to stabilize neurons in the brain. But in Alzheimer’s disease, tau proteins can misfold and tangle inside neurons. These tangles spread across the brain forming toxic clumps that impair neuronal function and ultima...

03/03/2026

Adults 55 and older are invited to join Atlantic Fellow Verónica Rojas (2022) for a free, hands-on art workshop at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Drawing inspiration from historic embroidery and contemporary textile art, participants will learn basic stitching techniques and experiment with fabric paint and thread to create a personal mixed-media artwork that blends past and present. No prior experience is needed, and all materials are provided. The workshop is part of a weekly series running until March 25 (no class on March 4).

Stitching Stories: Past Threads to Present Voices
Wednesdays through March 25
10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. PST
de Young museum
Golden Gate Park
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
San Francisco, CA 94118

Verónica Rojas is a practicing visual artist and community teaching artist with years of experience teaching older adults through programs such as Art with Elders. Rojas’s work is deeply narrative and inspired by pre-Hispanic codices, symbols deeply rooted in nature and the cosmos.

Space limited to 15 participants. For more information and to register, please reach out to Sonia Gallant, Vitality Arts and Access coordinator, at sgallant@famsf.org or 415.750.7678.

This class was funded by a grant from the E. A. Michelson Philanthropy's Vitality Arts® Initiative

Image: Miguel Arzabe, Te Quiero Inti, 2021. Woven acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in. (121.9 x 152.4 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Museum purchase, a gift from the Svane Family Foundation, 2022.26.20. © Miguel Arzabe. Courtesy of the artist and Johansson Projects

02/14/2026

In this moving short film by Atlantic Fellow Michelle Memran, Jim shares the story of his wife, Kathleen — a scientist, singer, athlete and photographer — and the woman she remained, even as dementia changed her abilities.

Though her words became fewer, her love was unmistakable: in the way her face lit up when Jim entered the room, in the way she reached for his hand and held on.

We are grateful to Jim and Michelle for honoring her life and reminding us that connection endures, even in the face of loss.

For Valentine’s Day, care partner and advocate Jim Mangi reflects on the beauty of life with his wife, Kathleen Schmidt Mangi, who lived with young-onset Alz...

02/12/2026

As anti-amyloid therapies reshape Alzheimer’s treatment, how do clinicians know whether the drugs are working?

Renaud La Joie, PhD, of the UCSF Fein Memory and Aging Center, is leading an international Alzheimer’s Association consortium to answer that question.

In a new framework published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the group introduces “Treatment-Related Amyloid Clearance,” or TRAC—a biomarker-based standard that uses amyloid-PET scans to measure how effectively therapies clear amyloid plaques from the brain.

“We still have a lot to learn about what these drugs do and how they work,” said La Joie, the Edward and Pearl Fein Endowed Professor in Precision Care for Memory Disorders at UCSF. “TRAC provides clinicians a way to help patients and caregivers better understand the changes in the disease state.”

As new treatments emerge, clear standards for monitoring response will be critical to delivering precision care.

Read more:

In the last few years, progress has been made in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease with a class of therapies called anti-amyloid antibodies (anti-Aβ). These monoclonal anti-Aβs are proteins made in a laboratory to stimulate the immune system to slow the progression of the disease by targetin...

02/12/2026

New research from the UCSF Fein Memory and Aging Center suggests coordinated dementia care may provide greater overall benefit than lecanemab alone.

Patients in collaborative care programs like UCSF’s Care Ecosystem experienced improved quality of life, reduced caregiver burden, and added an average of four additional months at home. When medication was added, benefits increased further.

“We can’t just focus on the drugs — we need to rethink our system of care,” said Katherine L. Possin, PhD, professor of neurology at UCSF.

The future of dementia care may be both better treatments and better systems to deliver them.

Read more:

A UCSF study found that a "collaborative care" model for dementia patients improved quality of life, reduced costs, alleviated caregiver burden, and extended the time that patients remained in the community before entering a nursing facility, as compared to standard medication therapy.

11/13/2025

Stop by the UCSF Kalmanovitz Library and meet Michelle Memran, the 2025 UCSF Library Artist in Residence!

Michelle is a documentary filmmaker, dementia advocate, and Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at UCSF’s Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI). Her residency project, "Past Advocacy, Future Change: HIV/AIDS Campaigns Transforming Dementia Narratives," draws inspiration from UCSF Library’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic Collection to reimagine how visual advocacy can shift stigma and amplify the voices of those living with dementia.

Through multimedia creations and community collaborations, Michelle’s work connects the bold, humanizing messaging of early HIV/AIDS activism to contemporary dementia awareness campaigns. Her project reflects the urgent need for visibility, empathy, and creativity in public health narratives.

Michelle’s residency builds on her incredible career, including her award-winning documentary "The Rest I Make Up," which highlights the creative life of playwright María Irene Fornés after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

The UCSF Library Artist in Residence program was first launched in 2020. The program continues to serve as an intersection of arts and sciences and brings a humanities dimension to our health sciences university. It enables the library to offer its special collections holdings for exploration, which...

10/30/2025

We are beyond grateful and excited to announce this monumental gift to the UCSF Memory and Aging Center (MAC), generously provided by the Edward Fein Charitable Trust. This unprecedented donation will transform our division into the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center.

We extend our deepest appreciation to Edward and Pearl Fein for their visionary support. This gift will accelerate our research, education, and care efforts for those affected by dementia, making a significant impact on our patients, families, and healthcare workers.

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/10/430966/gift-will-advance-ucsfs-dementia-research-and-care

A $100 million gift to UCSF's renowned Memory and Aging Center (MAC). It is the first gift to name a UCSF division, which will now be the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center.

10/15/2025

🔎 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐢𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 💧
Understanding and tracking FTD starts with what we can measure. Dr. Adam Boxer (UCSF Memory and Aging Center) and Dr. Henrik Zetterberg (University of Gothenburg) are leading research to identify fluid biomarkers—proteins in blood and cerebrospinal fluid that reveal how FTD caused by 𝘎𝘙𝘕 variants develops and progresses.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.
🔬 Learn more: https://boxerlab.ucsf.edu/ | gu.se/en/about/find-staff/henrikzetterberg

09/17/2025

09/17/2025

We were thrilled to host MindScapes, the debut solo exhibition by Ugandan visual artist and Atlantic Fellow, Kiggundu Rodney, at UCSF’s Memory and Aging Center’s Gallery 190!

This powerful exhibition invited viewers to explore the delicate interplay of love, time, and memory. Through Rodney’s creative lens, everyday objects and the brain’s inner workings transform into profound metaphors for reflection and introspection.

"I’m fascinated by how the mind stores emotion in fragments, and I like to use the brain, shapes, patterns as metaphors for these messages,” Rodney states. Rodney’s creations go beyond visual appeal—they embody thought, emotion, and memory, allowing viewers to pause and reconnect with their internal worlds.

https://synapse.ucsf.edu/articles/2025/09/16/mindscapes-kiggundu-rodney-bridges-art-and-brain-health-debut-solo-exhibition

The MindScapes exhibit has ended, but you can learn more about Rodney's work at https://www.instagram.com/kiggunduartstudio/.

On Thursday, July 10, Kiggundu Rodney, a Ugandan visual artist and an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at UCSF’s Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), hosted guests at the Memory and Aging Center’s Gallery 190 for his debut solo exhibition opening reception.

08/25/2025

Tune in Tuesday night, Aug. 26, for ABC’s "Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey – A Diane Sawyer Special." This moving feature focuses on Bruce Willis’ diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and includes insights from UCSF Memory and Aging Center’s Dr. Bruce Miller. This is a powerful story you won’t want to miss.

Watch "Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey – A Diane Sawyer Special" Tuesday, Aug. 26 on ABC.

04/17/2025

We’re excited to announce the release of _Mysteries of the Social Brain_ by UCSF Memory and Aging Center Director Dr. Bruce Miller and faculty member Dr. Virginia Sturm. It is now available for purchase on Amazon!

Mysteries of the Social Brain unravels the scientific foundations of human behavior and values through fascinating clinical stories of individuals with neurological conditions. Discover the brain circuits that allow us to thrive socially and creatively, and learn how changes in these circuits impact empathy, altruism, moral beliefs, and creativity. Integrating insights from neurology, psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience, Dr. Miller and Dr. Sturm reveal the inner workings of the social brain and groundbreaking findings from their work on frontotemporal dementia, emotion, and human values. Learn simple steps to improve your social brain’s functioning and explore how neuroscience can change societies for the better.

Perfect for curious readers, clinicians, and scientists interested in human social behavior, cognition, and emotion.
Get your copy today on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Social-Brain-Understanding-Behavior/dp/1032814284/

We would love to hear your thoughts! Share your reviews on Amazon and let us know what you think.

We offer easy, convenient returns with at least one free return option: no shipping charges. All returns must comply with our returns policy.