Minding Memory Podcast

Exploring Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and other Types of Dementia

Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify
or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Minding Memory with a microphone and a shadow of a microphone on a blue background

Welcome to Minding Memory. In this podcast we discuss topics related to dementia research. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for dementia research, and we have topics for both those new to the space as well as old pros. We start with some basics, like: What exactly is dementia? What are the different types of dementia? What is the TICS, if not a swarm of blood-sucking insects? But we also invite researchers on to discuss their interesting work to give you a glimpse at the questions, data, and methods moving the field forward. 

Minding Memory is co-hosted by Matthew Davis and Lauren Gerlach. Matt and Lauren are health services researchers and professors at the University of Michigan. Matt’s PhD is in Data Science and Lauren is a geriatric psychiatrist. The Minding Memory podcast is part of the Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) at the University of Michigan, supported by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health. Additional support also comes from the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. The content of this podcast does not represent the views of the National Institutes of Health or the University of Michigan. Please consider subscribing to this podcast and make sure to check out our website. On our website you’ll also find links to the center’s seminar series and data products created specifically for dementia research. 

Michigan Medicine is the academic medical center for the University of Michigan. The Minding Memory podcast is part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network. You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple PodcastsSpotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Recent Podcasts See all Minding Memory Podcasts Minding Memory with a microphone and a shadow of a microphone on a blue background
Minding Memory
The Return of Minding Memory
Welcome to Season 4 of Minding Memory, where we are welcoming a new co-host, Lauren Gerlach to the Minding Memory team. Lauren is a Geriatric Psychiatrist at the University of Michigan and a member of the CAPRA leadership team. In this episode, Lauren shares a little background on her research interests, what it’s like to be a geriatric psychiatrist, and some lessons learned about using “uncool” emoticons or emojis when texting.
Minding Memory with a microphone and a shadow of a microphone on a blue background
Minding Memory
The Intersection of Artificial Intelligence & Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
In this episode, Matt and Donovan talk with Dr. Jason H. Moore, Director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education (CAIRE) and Chair of the Department of Computational Biomedicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Jason discusses the coming impact of artificial intelligence on a spectrum of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) issues. We discuss how tools such as AI-powered chatbots may improve quality of life for people living with dementia (and their caregivers) and how AI may contribute in the future to diagnosis and treatment.
Minding Memory with a microphone and a shadow of a microphone on a blue background
Minding Memory
The Professional Workforce of People Who Provide Dementia Care
In this episode of Minding Memory, Matt & Donovan speak with Dr. Joanne Spetz, the Brenda and Jeffrey L. Kang Presidential Chair in Healthcare Finance and Director of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Joanne talks with Matt & Donovan about who makes up the professional workforce of people who provide dementia care and how these individuals play a critical role in the delivery of services. Joanne also discusses how different professional roles interact across setting of care. Lastly, Joanne introduces a new study she is working on with Donovan called the National Dementia Workforce Study (NDWS) that will be surveying a large group of clinicians who provide care for people living with dementia.
Minding Memory with a microphone and a shadow of a microphone on a blue background
Minding Memory
Racial Disparities in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
In this episode of Minding Memory, Matt & Donovan speak with Dr. Lisa Barnes, the Alla V. and Solomon Jesmer Professor of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Neurological Sciences and Associate-Director of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Rush University. Dr. Barnes talks with Matt & Donovan about racial disparities in Alzheimer’s disease dementia and several obstacles that have impeded our understanding of race and dementia.
Minding Memory with a microphone and a shadow of a microphone on a blue background
Minding Memory
Identifying Dementia from EHR Data
In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, wow, that's a mouthful, more commonly known as the HITECH Act, spent billions to promote the uptake of electronic health records by US hospitals. Fast forward more than a decade later, and now approximately four out of five healthcare institutions have electronic health record systems in place that integrate clinical notes, test results, medications, diagnostic images, et cetera. The adoption of EHR systems into healthcare introduces new and exciting opportunities to extract information that can be used to augment other types of data for research. As you might imagine though, it can be tricky to pull out meaningful information from the text of clinical notes. In this episode, we'll speak with a University of Michigan researcher, Dr. Vinod Vydiswaran, who's been developing methods to identify dementia from EHR data.
Minding Memory with a microphone and a shadow of a microphone on a blue background
Minding Memory
Vision Impairment as a Risk Factor for Dementia
The population of older adults living with dementia is expected to swell to nearly 14 million by 2050 and is estimated to cost the US economy more than 500 billion each year. In the absence of a cure for Alzheimer's disease, the primary cause of dementia, there's interest in understanding modifiable risk factors. In theory, getting a handle on the modifiable risk factors for dementia, would enable public health efforts to reduce cognitive decline in dementia at the population level. We've come a long way in understanding the risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias. However, there's still work to be done. In this episode, we'll speak with Dr. Josh Ehrlich, a researcher at the University of Michigan, who has examined vision impairment as a risk factor for dementia.
Connect with Michigan Medicine
Michigan Podcast Network
Try our Other Podcasts

The Michigan Medicine Podcast Network brings together a range of podcasts covering everything from health and wellness news and innovative research to how the field of medical education is changing.

Visit the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network
Health Lab Podcast in brackets on a background of cells overlaid in blue
Health Lab Podcast
Health Lab Podcast

Health Lab Podcast is your destination for news and stories about the future of healthcare.

Health Lab Podcast
The Fundamentals with hosts Kelly Malcom and Jordan Goebig sitting on a microscope stage under a spotlight from the objective lenses.
The Fundamentals
The Fundamentals

Welcome to The Fundamentals, a podcast where we explore biomedical research here at Michigan Medicine–and meet the scientists behind it.

The Fundamentals
Michigan (in blue) Answers (in yellow) on a white background
Michigan Answers Podcast
Michigan Answers Podcast

The Michigan Medicine Podcast Network brings together a range of podcasts covering everything from health and wellness news and innovative research to how the field of medical education is changing.

Michigan Answers Podcast
Breaking Down Mental Health on a yellow graphic head with a blue background
Breaking Down Mental Health
Breaking Down Mental Health

Breaking Down Mental Health focuses on educating medical professionals about various mental health topics.

Breaking Down Mental Health
Cancer Aware surrounded by a circle of multicolor ribbons
Cancer Aware
Cancer Aware

Knowing and understanding your cancer risk is important. Whether it’s prevention, treatment options, the latest discoveries or news, we’ll help you get Cancer Aware.

Cancer Aware
Michigan Medicine Presents in the intersection of two stage lights on a blue background
Michigan Medicine Presents
Michigan Medicine Presents

Welcome to “Michigan Medicine Presents,” a wide-ranging exploration into topics spanning the field of medicine.

Michigan Medicine Presents
Michigan Surgery Sessions on a dark blue background with a yellow semicircle overlayed with a microphone
Michigan Surgery Sessions
Michigan Surgery Sessions

Join hosts from the Michigan Medicine Department of Surgery as they bring you stories about the latest in surgical clinical care, education and more with faculty, residents and medical students.

Michigan Surgery Sessions
Minding Memory with a microphone and a shadow of a microphone on a blue background
Minding Memory
Minding Memory

In this podcast we discuss topics related to dementia research. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for dementia research, and we have topics for both those new to the space as well as old pros.

Minding Memory