Kimberley McAllister, Ph.D.
Professor and CNS Director
Healthy Brain Aging Initiative Big Idea
My passion for this Big Idea
“I was inspired to pursue a research career when I became fascinated by the complexity of the human brain as an undergraduate at Davidson College in North Carolina. Thirty years later, I’m still in awe by neuroscience and seek to understand how connections between cells in the brain form, stabilize and change during learning and memory throughout the lifespan in health and in disease.
“UC Davis is the ideal place for this momentous research because we are leaders in collaborative, team-based research efforts."
Here at UC Davis, we aim to provide better treatments for people aging now and to change the future of brain aging for the next generation. Basic neuroscience research at UC Davis is revealing innovative new strategies to enhance brain resilience throughout the lifespan and prevent the factors that cause dementia and disease as we age. UC Davis is the ideal place for this momentous research because we are leaders in collaborative, team-based research efforts. Along with my laboratory, more than 150 faculty labs at UC Davis are focused on neuroscience research. Our UC Davis Healthy Brain Aging Initiative capitalizes on this research breadth by promoting a new kind of team science that brings groups together from such disparate fields as neuroscience, immunology, nutrition, psychology, math, physics, computer science, engineering, sociology and clinical departments to advance our understanding of how the brain ages and develop novel approaches to dramatically improve brain health for all.
This emphasis on promoting brain health and preventing dementia is long overdue. We are facing a grave and unprecedented health crisis as our society ages. The time is now to accelerate our discoveries so that we can improve the lives of our loved ones facing dementia and the family members who will care for them. ”
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