Staying Sharp, a program presented by the Dana Alliance in partnership with NRTA: AARP’s Educator Community and AARP Events, focuses on understanding how the brain works and maximizing brain function and health. The program includes a series of live public forums, five educational booklets, and a DVD program.
UPCOMING STAYING SHARP FORUMS
Saturday, March 20, 11 am-1 pm
During Brain Awareness Week
Miami Science Museum, 3280 South Miami Avenue, Miami, FL 33129
This free session is a featured program at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Miami Project to Cure Paralysis “Brain Fair 2010”
An all University of Miami Miller School of Medicine panel, including:
**Walter G. Bradley, MD, FRCP, Professor and Chairman Emeritus, Department of Neurology
Helen M. Bramlett, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery
Bonnie E. Levin, PhD, Director, Division of Neuropsychology (session moderator)
Ralph L. Sacco, MS, MD, FAAN, FAHA, Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurology
**Following the program Dr. Bradley will sign copies of his book Treating the Brain: What the Best Doctors Know.
Reservations are not required; seating is available on a first come, first served basis.
RECENT STAYING SHARP FORUMS
Las Vegas, NV
AARP Vegas @ 50+
October 22, 2009
An audience of nearly 1,000 AARP members gathered for the final Staying Sharp forum of 2009, which took place at AARP’s “Vegas@50+” conference in Las Vegas on Thursday, October 22. For this session, the Alliance partnered with the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health (CCLRCBH) of Las Vegas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain diseases and disorders. The all CCLRCBH panel, including (left to right) Randolph Schiffer, MD, the Center’s medical director; Donna Munic, PhD, director of caregiver programs; and session moderator Maureen Peckman, CEO of Keep Memory Alive, the support organization for CCLRCBH, discussed memory and the aging brain, diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s disease, the role of the caregiver, and more.
Chicago, IL
AARP Life Festival
June 6, 2009
In early June a Staying Sharp took place at Chicago’s Navy Pier, at AARP’s Life Festival Chicago. Percil Stanford, PhD (at podium, above), AARP’s Chief Diversity Officer, welcomed the audience and introduced the panel to open the session. Moderator James M. Galloway, MD (seated, right), Assistant U.S. Surgeon General, opened the session by asking the experts to relay the good news about the aging brain. Panelists (left to right) Nancy Johnson, PhD; Lei Wang, PhD; and Robert Vassar, PhD, all of Northwestern University, shared with the audience insights from their individual areas of expertise. A major topic of discussion was the “four factors” of cognitive fitness, and the entire panel urged the audience to be mentally, physically, and socially active, and to maintain good cardiovascular health.
San Antonio, TX
AARP Life Festival
May 16, 2009
In mid-May the first of the Staying Sharp forums to take place as part of AARP’s new Life Festivals events was held in San Antonio.
An enthusiastic Festival audience joined in on a conversation among (left to right, above) moderator Leobardo Estrada, PhD (UCLA; AARP’s Board of Directors), and panelists José E. Cavazos, MD, PhD, and Donald A. Robin, PhD, both of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Following a discussion on topics as varied as how to address concerns over a loved one’s memory problems, cutting-edge imaging for Alzheimer’s disease, and new research into how speech therapy might help reorganize the brain, the audience eagerly awaited the panel’s answers to questions on a variety of brain-related topics.
Atlanta, GA
April 18, 2009
A Staying Sharp session was held in Atlanta, GA in April 2009. The forum was part of a weekend-long celebration honoring the work of Dana Alliance member Mahlon R. DeLong, MD (second from right, below), W. P. Timmie Professor of Neurology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. 
Dr. DeLong joined fellow Alliance members (left to right, above) Guy McKhann, MD, of the Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore; Marilyn S. Albert, PhD, also from Johns Hopkins University; and Allan Levey, MD, PhD, of the Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, in a lively conversation about the brain. Dr. McKhann moderated the session, leading the panel in a discussion focused on the aging brain and what we can all do to stay sharp. The diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, Dr. DeLong’s area of expertise, was also a particular focus of the forum.
Dana news articles on Dr. DeLong’s work:
“A Brain Region, Redefined”
“Brain Stimulation Pioneer Sets Sights on Other Diseases”
San Antonio, TX
March 14, 2009
The first Staying Sharp of 2009 took place in San Antonio, kicking off this year’s Brain Awareness Week celebration (March 16-22).
The panel (l to r, above), José E. Cavazos, MD, PhD, of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio; Dana Alliance member Michael J. Friedlander, PhD, from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston; and James L. Roberts, PhD, from Trinity University in San Antonio, joined moderator Annette Norsman, PhD, of AARP (far right) in conversation. The discussion focused on Staying Sharp topics such as how the brain changes as we age, and touched upon topics of particular interest to the panelists, including Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and vascular risk among the Hispanic community in the United States.
For an archive of earlier Staying Sharp sessions, please visit the Staying Sharp archives page.