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By Varshini Chellapilla

Hannah Cao, a Penn Program on Precision Medicine for the Brain (P3MB) research intern, has completed her time at the Penn Memory Center and will be moving on to Boston as a social worker at Massachusetts General Hospital.  

Cao was a candidate for the master of social work at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice when she joined P3MB researcher and clinical psychologist Shana Stites, PsyD, MA, MS, on the Gender’s Impact on Cognition in Older Adults (CoGenT3) study. 

“Hannah is amazing,” Dr. Stites said. “She showed up uncertain about research, then took to it like a fish to water. She quickly became the cornerstone of the COGENT3 study and has been a pleasure to mentor. She’s going to continue to do great at all she does.” 

PMC co-director Dr. Jason Karlawish was quoted in The New York Times regarding the uncertainties surrounding Aduhelm, the Alzheimer’s disease drug recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration. When asked if adults should consider Aduhelm, Dr. Karlawish said, “The F.D.A. has passed the determination along to the American family.”

Understanding the way that Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias affect loved ones is a hard concept for many adults to wrap their head around. For children, it might seem tougher to explain and comprehend. 

Alison Lynn, MSW, LCSW, associate director for social work at the Penn Memory Center, suggests children’s books as a way to introduce a diagnosis to them and its effects on their relationships with older loved ones. 

“We get a fair number of questions regarding grandchildren in families that live together intergenerationally,” Lynn said. “Questions are more commonly focused on what to do after the diagnosis and the real-world issues that arise than about how to explain the diagnosis itself. Situations like these have also increased due to the pandemic.” 

Children’s books that address dementia and Alzheimer’s disease help relay the concepts that are less concrete and harder to grasp. 

By Varshini Chellapilla

At the Penn Memory Center and the Alzheimer’ Disease Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania, we are committed to training the next generation of clinicians and researchers. The Christopher M. Clark Scholars program was created to encourage and guide early career researchers as they study the various aspects of Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, cognitive aging, and lifelong brain health.  

This year’s scholars are Lasya Sreepada, Xueying Lyu, Brianna Morgan, Kyra O’Brien, and Nicole Nissim, who come from diverse backgrounds in bioengineering, nursing and clinical research.  

Christopher M. Clark was the founding director of the Penn Memory Center. Among his many accomplishments were his role in the team that demonstrated the ability of a florbetapir PET scan to detect brain deposits of beta-amyloid, his co-development of the Dementia Severity Rating Scale, and contributions to the development of therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.  

The scholars program at PMC was renamed last year to be the Christopher M. Clark Scholars Program to honor Dr. Clark’s achievements as well as his dedication to research and promoting awareness of Alzheimer’s disease.  

Dr. Jason Karlawish, PMC co-director, spoke about the FDA’s approval of Aduhelm (aducanumab) and what the approval may mean for patients living with Alzheimer’s disease going forward on NPR’s show Here and Now. Dr. Karlawish’s segment starts at minute 10:45.