Chief Executive Officer
Meg Smith is the Chief Executive Officer of Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding research with the highest probability of preventing, slowing or reversing Alzheimer’s disease.
Meg was appointed CEO in 2023 after eight years of successfully advancing the research program at Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. Through her stewardship, the fund awarded more than $138 million in research grants to scientists and institutions worldwide, representing a substantial portion of the total distributions since the organization’s inception in 2004. Meg spearheaded unprecedented year-over-year growth while simultaneously ensuring that CureAlz sustained its model of high-rigor, high-accountability scientific decision making by its external community of leading researchers.
This funding has been instrumental in driving progress and fostering groundbreaking discoveries in Alzheimer’s disease research. Among the notable achievements under Meg’s leadership is an extraordinary 7.8x return on CureAlz investment into proof-of-concept, early-stage research from the National Institutes of Health, multiplying the impact of the organization’s contributions to Alzheimer’s research.
Trained as an attorney and with expertise in business consulting, Meg brings a unique and pragmatic perspective to the organization. She has earned widespread respect within the research community for her collaborative strategy, dynamic vision and impressive mastery of the science.
Prior to her role as Executive Vice President, Research Management, for Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, Meg was a consultant with McKinsey & Company and a law clerk for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Additionally, she has served as a Fellow at The Berkman (now Berkman Klein) Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Meg earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree from Duke University.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS AND COMMITTEE WORK
AD/PD 2025
Moderated Panel Discussion titled: Therapy For AD, PD, & LBD: Novel Translational Models, New Receptor and Neuroinflammation-Based Targets – How Close Are We To Success?
ADRD SUMMIT COMMITTEE MEMBER 2025
National Institute of Health (NIH) / National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias Summit 2025. The ADRD Summits help guide national research efforts on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias as part of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease.
Multiple Etiology Dementias Basic committee member
Multiple Etiology Dementias Exposome committee member
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/news-events/events/adrd-summit-2025
PODCASTS:
Research Renaissance: Exploring the Future of Brain Science Podcast with host Deborah Westphal
“How Philanthropy is Accelerating Alzheimer’s Breakthroughs with Meg Smith”
Charity Talks with Brooke Dunefsky
https://charitytalks.podbean.com/e/cure-alzheimers-fund/
