Scientific Advisory Board

Malcolm A. Leissring, Ph.D.

Malcolm A. Leissring, Ph.D. (Chair)

Research Associate Professor, UC Irvine
President/CEO of Auguste Deter Foundation

Malcolm Leissring is a neuroscientist and pharmacologist who has dedicated most of his 25-year career in biomedical research towards the goal of developing novel therapies for Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related disorders. Dr. Leissring received his training under several of the world’s leading Alzheimer’s disease researchers, and he has held faculty positions at several prestigious institutions, including Harvard Medical School, The Scripps Research Institute and Mayo Clinic.

Curt Hendrix, MS, CCN, CNS

Curt Hendrix, MS, CCN, CNS

Medical Nutritionist, Entrepreneur

Curt Hendrix is a multi-disciplined scientist whose research and teachings focus on improving health and fighting the war on aging at the cellular level. His unique combination of education, training and experience in chemistry, medicine, nutrition, the supplement industry, NIH sponsored research and pharmaceutical drug development, generates a perspective that has led to an intimate understanding of the working of the human body. Curt is considered a foremost authority on science-based nutritional applications of herbal medicine, and he developed and tested a dietary supplement that was shown to prevent Alzheimer-type pathology and cognitive symptoms in animal models of the disease.

Jacqueline Jacques, ND, FTOS

Jacqueline Jacques, ND, FTOS

Naturopathic Doctor
Vice President of Research and Development, Thorne Research

Dr. Jacqueline Jacques is a naturopathic doctor with 16 years of expertise in medical nutrition. Dr Jacques has spent much of her career in the nutrition industry as a formulator, speaker, writer and educator. She is currently Vice President of Research and Development for Thorne Research, a US-based medical nutrition company. Dr Jacques is a valued advisor with current and past experience on numerous boards of director and advisory boards including the Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, and the California Naturopathic Doctors’ Association.

Todd E. Golde, MD, PhD

Todd E. Golde, MD, PhD

Professor of Neuroscience, University of Florida
Director, McKnight Brain Institute

Dr. Todd Golde is a world-renowned Alzheimer’s disease researcher who has made countless contributions to the field, particularly in the area of novel therapeutic development. Dr. Golde served as Chair of the prestigious Department of Neuroscience at Mayo Clinic before moving to his current position as Director of the Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease at the University of Florida, where he leads a team of several dozen researchers focused primarily on Alzheimer’s disease.

Yama Akbari, MD, PhD

Yama Akbari, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Neurology UC Irvine School of Medicine

Dr. Akbari is a clinical neurologist as well as a basic research scientist with a strong background investigating the molecular pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Currently an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at UC Irvine School of Medicine, Dr. Akbari is an active physician certified by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology who also maintains an active laboratory investigating novel treatments for arousal from coma and cardiac arrest.

Rahassan Ager, PhD

Rahassan Ager, PhD

Research Scientist, UCI MIND
Adjunct Professor of Biology

Dr. Rahasson Ager is an Alzheimer’s disease research scientist currently working within the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders at UC Irvine, and an Adjunct Professor of biology in the science department at Coastline Community College. His research focuses on exploring the potential of stem cell transplantation, and inflammatory resolution, as treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. As such, he is currently working on projects that involve modulating the immune response to Alzheimer’s disease pathology in transgenic mouse models of the disease.

Eric Samuels, MS

Eric Samuels, MS

Medicinal Chemist
Doctoral Student, Pharmacological Sciences, UC Irvine

Eric Samuels is a research scientist and medicinal chemist interested in bridging the gap between chemistry and biology through rational drug design. With a particularly broad research background, he has worked on projects involving glioblastoma, prostate cancer, cancer stem cells, antisense therapy, and other neuroscience-related applications. Eric is currently a PhD candidate within the Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology program at UC Irvine.