With 10 years of research behind us, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund continues to grow, with the quality of our research remaining extraordinary. To build on our success, we recently welcomed four new Research Consortium members and four new employees to our organization.

Christoph Lange, Ph.D., Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is highly respected for his work in statistical genetics and generalized linear models, including family-based association tests. P. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D., Duke University, who heads up the Biological Psychiatry Department there, is a world leader in the fields of cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychiatry, specifically brain longevity and mental health. Karen Duff, Ph.D., professor of pathology and cell biology at Columbia University, is renowned for her work on Alzheimer’s disease. Christian Haass, Ph.D., chair of the Metabolic Biochemistry Department at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, has devoted his research to the discovery of cellular and molecular mechanisms of dementia.

The addition of these prestigious researchers further underscores our commitment to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease as soon as possible. In order to efficiently handle our continued growth, we also have made four new strategic hires, funding for whom will be covered by our generous board members. That means 100 percent of donations will continue to go directly to research.

Barbara Chambers, our new senior engagement officer, will be our “chief story teller.” She will elevate awareness of CAF’s role in eradicating Alzheimer’s and communicate our mission to the media, the public and our donors. She has worked with entrepreneurial start-ups and well-established businesses in branding, marketing and PR. Meg Smith joins us as senior adviser for strategy and special projects to manage and coordinate research opportunities. Most recently, she was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. John P. Slattery Jr. is our new senior vice president, development. He joins us to take a leadership role in fundraising and outreach. His experience includes developing innovative outreach and fundraising initiatives to drive revenue for a number of nonprofit and sports organizations. Sara Oettinger is our new administrative manager. She will maintain our office systems and support our staff. She served as support staff at a pharmaceutical company and venture capital firm, and as the president and general director of a Boston opera company.

In addition, Toni Carbone, who has served as our office manager for many years, will modify her role to continue to assist the increasing number of Heroes who raise awareness and money for us and to help manage the growing number of research projects we are funding. Finally, Senior Vice President Mike Curren, who worked with us for four years, has moved on to a new organization. We are most appreciative of Mike’s efforts in helping to fuel the growth CAF is now experiencing in donors, dollars and research initiatives.

We would not be where we are today without our generous donors. Thank you for your unwavering support.