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Okonkwo Lab News

  • Gabriella Mamlouk Completes First Thesis Committee Meeting

    Gabby Mamlouk successfully completed her first thesis committee meeting, where she shared the framework for her project of interest. Congratulations on this first big step towards completing your thesis!

  • Bri Breidenbach Transitions into Scientist Position

    Dr. Bri Breidenbach has transitioned from her role as a Postdoctoral Fellow to a Scientist position in our lab!! Bri has been a Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab for over 2 years, where she has …

  • Kyle Edmunds’s Manuscript Accepted for Publication

    Dr. Kyle Edmund’s manuscript “BDNF expression mediates verbal learning and memory in women in a cohort enriched with risk for Alzheimer’s disease“ has been accepted and published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease …

  • Ozioma Okonkwo’s Editorial Published

    Dr. Ozioma Okonkwo recently published the article “Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative: Two decades of pioneering Alzheimer’s disease research and future directions” in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. It is the editorial for the ADNI 20th Anniversary Special Issue, …

  • Chinenye Odo’s Manuscript Accepted for Publication

    Dr. Chinenye Odo’s manuscript “Cardiovascular rate pressure product is associated with NfL in older adults at risk for AD“ has been accepted for publication in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. Congratulations, Chinenye!

  • Ikenna Odoh Passes First Stage of UW Medical License Examination

    Ikenna Odoh passed the first stage of the US Medical License Examination this month! Congratulations on this accomplishment – we are so proud!

  • Sara Fernandes-Taylor Awarded Professional Development Grant

    Dr. Sara Fernandes-Taylor was awarded a UW-Madison Academic Staff Professional Development Grant totaling $1,200 to enable her attendance to AD/PD 2025! Congratulations, Sara!

  • Ozioma Okonkwo Quoted In Recent News Articles About CLARiTI

    Dr. Ozioma Okonkwo was recently quoted in news articles about the first participant enrolled in the Clarity in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research Through Imaging (CLARiTI) study. Dr. Okonkwo serves as the co-lead for …

  • Abstracts Accepted for Oral Presentation at AD/PD 2025

    The Okonkwo Lab has 2 lab members whose abstracts were accepted for oral presentation at AD/PD 2025 in Vienna, Austria: Sara Fernandes-Taylor (virtual): Region-specific measures of metabolism differentiate cognitively unimpaired individuals with elevated levels of …

  • Okonkwo Lab at CTAD 2024

    The Okonkwo Lab traveled to Madrid, Spain to attend the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease conference (CTAD)! Adam Paulsen gave a poster presentation: The longitudinal relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness, amyloid-β, and cognitive decline in adults …

  • Hannatu Amaza, Amber Niay, and Mai Seng Thao’s Manuscript Accepted for Publication

    Hannatu Amaza, Amber Niay, and Mai Seng Thao’s manuscript titled “The Health Equity Scholars Program: Fostering Culturally Competent and Successful Independent Investigators in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia Research” was accepted for publication in Alzheimer’s …

  • Welcome Drs. Ikenna Odoh, Jacqueline Pontes Monteiro, and Kyle Edmunds

    We are thrilled to welcome our newest lab members to the team! Ikenna Odoh, MD is a graduate research assistant from the Master of Public Health Program with an interest in improving health outcomes for people …

  • Welcome New Students!

    We are excited to share that we have 3 new students who joined the Okonkwo Lab in the Fall 2024 semester: Charisma Waters: I’m a sophomore studying biology with certificate in BioCore. I’m super excited …

  • Noah Cook’s Manuscript Accepted for Publication

    Noah Cook’s manuscript “β-Amyloid positivity is less prevalent in cognitively unimpaired KLOTHO KL-VS heterozygotes” was accepted for publication in the Journal of Alzheimer’s disease (JAD). Congratulations, Noah!

  • Okonkwo Lab at AAIC 2024

    The Okonkwo Lab traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend AAIC 2024! Kenzie Jarchow gave a poster presentation: KLOTHO KL-VS genotype modifies the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and CSF biomarkers of neurodegeneration, synaptic dysfunction, and inflammation Bri …

  • Monica Bruce’s Abstract Accepted for Oral Presentation

    Monica Bruce’s abstract Elevate Your Community Engaged Research was accepted for a 1-hour, in-person seminar at the 2024 American Speech Language Hearing Association Convention in Seattle, Washington! Monica submitted this abstract in conjunction with Sara …

  • Ozioma Okonkwo Appointed to the Review Committee on Academic Staff Research Professor Titles

    Dr. Ozioma Okonkwo has been appointed to the Review Committee on Academic Staff Research Professor Titles. This committee will assess the landscape for use of Assistant Research Professor, Associate Research Professor, and Research Professor titles since …

  • Ozioma Okonkwo’s Manuscripts Accepted for Publication

    Dr. Ozioma Okonkwo authored two manuscripts recently accepted for publication: “A Protocol for the Inclusion of Minoritized Persons in Alzheimer’s Disease Research From the ADNI3 Diversity Taskforce” (lead author) was published in JAMA Network Open. It …

  • Kyle Edmunds Receives Loan Repayment

    Dr. Kyle Edmunds was recently awarded a Loan Repayment Plan award with the NIH which helps pay off student debt. Congratulations Kyle on this amazing news!

  • Ozioma Okonkwo Contributes to Revised Criteria for Diagnosing and Staging AD

    Since 2022, Dr. Ozioma Okonkwo served on the NIA-Alzheimer’s Association expert workgroup that establishes definitions and boundary classifications for Alzheimer’s disease (i.e., the NIA-Alzheimer’s Association Research Framework for Alzheimer’s Disease). The Revised Criteria for Diagnosing …

  • Noah Cook Successfully Defends Thesis

    Noah Cook successfully defended his thesis “KLOTHO gene does not improve models relating polygenic risk score to Alzheimer’s disease outcomes” on May 30, 2024! Congratulations Noah on this wonderful achievement! We are proud of you …

  • Ozioma Okonkwo Invited to Multiple Speaking, Session Chairing, and Mentoring Opportunities

    Dr. Ozioma Okonkwo has been invited to 4 different speaking and session chairing opportunities in the coming months: On May 31, Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, NIH director, Dr. Joni Rutter, Director of the National Center for …

  • Ozioma Okonkwo Invited to Speak at AAIC Satellite Symposium

    Dr. Ozioma Okonkwo was invited to speak at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) Satellite Symposium in Cape Town, South Africa in May 2024. His presentation was titled Cardiorespiratory Fitness Modifies the Association Between Cerebral …

  • Ozioma Okonkwo Invited to Speak at AAIC Advancements: Modernizing Diagnosis

    Dr. Ozioma Okonkwo has been invited to be a speaker at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) Advancements: Modernizing Diagnosis in Tokyo, Japan in September 2024. He will present an overview of the revised criteria …

  • Monica Bruce Published Column in The Capital City Hues

    Monica Bruce wrote a column for the Capital City Hues in honor of National Minority Health Month! It was published in the April 15 edition of the Capital City Hues: https://www.capitalcityhues.com/04152024monicabruce/ Congratulations Monica on an …

  • Marissa Torres-Raby Presents at Undergraduate Research Symposium

    Marissa Torres-Raby is presenting her poster “Modification of the CAIDE score to predict amyloid positivity” at UW-Madison’s Bio152 Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium. Congratulations on all the hard work put into this project, Marissa!

  • Ira Driscoll’s Manuscript Accepted for Publication

    Dr. Ira Driscoll’s manuscript, titled, “KLOTHO KL-VS heterozygosity is associated with diminished age-related neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration and synaptic dysfunction in older cognitively unimpaired adults” has been accepted for publication in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of …

  • Eli Blum’s Abstract Accepted for Presentation at Undergraduate Research Symposium

    Eli Blum’s abstract “Examining the Association of Age, Physical Activity, and APOE Haplotype On [11C] PiB-PET Brain Amyloid in a Cohort Enriched with Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease.” was accepted for oral presentation at the 2024 …

  • Alicia Le Bars Accepted into Graduate School

    Alicia Le Bars has been accepted into the Masters of Physiotherapy program at Edinburgh Napier University in the UK!! We are so proud – Congratulations, Alicia!

  • Abstracts Accepted for AAIC 2024

    The Okonkwo Lab has 5 lab members whose abstracts were accepted for poster presentation at AAIC 2024 in Philadelphia, PA: Kenzie Jarchow: KLOTHO KL-VS genotype modifies the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and CSF biomarkers of neurodegeneration, …

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