On Wednesday, February 26, 2014, a U.S. Senate subcommittee heard from several panelists on the state of research, funding and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The first panel was led by Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In his talk, Dr. Collins describes much of the research being conducted by Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, which is focused on identifying both the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and identifying therapeutic targets for drug discovery to prevent cognitive decline. The session served to bring the Alzheimer’s crisis to the attention of politicians, as well as to enhance the public’s understanding of current research.

Other presenters at the hearing included Dr. Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging, and Seth Rogen, actor and founder of Hilarity for Charity, a non-profit raising money for Alzheimer’s through comedy events.