BrainStorm by UsAgainstAlzheimer's

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. In part one of BrainStorm’s look at Medicare open enrollment, host Meryl Comer talks with Alison Schneider, Director of Market Access Policy and Strategy at ADVIHealth and a former public health policy professional at the CDC, about why open enrollment is far more than a paperwork exercise. Through a rapid-fire game of “wise, risky, or incomplete,...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. Blood tests and brain scans can now show signs of Alzheimer's up to 20 years before symptoms appear. So what can we do with that head start? Meryl Comer talks with Dr. Frank Longo, Stanford neurologist and founder and board chairman of PharmatrophiX. Dr. Longo’s work shifts the question from how to clear what has built up in the brain to how...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. Angela Williams spent decades building a career that culminated in leading United Way Worldwide — a global network serving 48 million people across 36 countries. What almost no one knew was that she was simultaneously managing the escalating care needs of her parents. When she stepped down, she skipped the usual "on to my next chapter" s...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. Caregivers of people with dementia know the toll of repetitive, anxiety-driven phone calls — sometimes dozens or even a hundred a day. On this episode of BrainStorm, host Meryl Comer talks with Kirstin Thomas, co-founder of KindredMind, about the personal crisis and pivotal moment that led her to build a voice-companion app that answers those call...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. Your mouth may be doing more than you think — it could be a gateway to your brain. In this episode of BrainStorm , host Meryl Comer sits down with Dr. Flavio Rasetto, a Washington DC-based prosthodontist and University of Maryland School of Dentistry faculty member, to explore the emerging science linking oral inflammation to Alzheimer's dise...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. In this episode of BrainStorm, host Meryl Comer leads part 2 in a series on UsAgainstAlzheimer's newly released Brain Health Journey resources. The discussion with Dr. Diana Summanwar, a practicing family physician and implementation scientist, and Chris Miller, project manager for UsAgainstAlzheimer's Brain Health Journey, centers on th...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. Endocrinologist and longevity expert Dr. Florence Comite joins Meryl Comer to challenge conventional wisdom about aging, hormones, and brain health. Drawing on decades of clinical experience and her new book Invincible , Dr. Comite explains why the fear around hormone therapy is based on outdated, flawed research. She believes testosterone, proges...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. What if the way we think about aging and dementia is fundamentally wrong? Dr. Florence Comite, precision medicine pioneer and author of Invincible: Defy Your Genetic Destiny to Live Better Longer , joins host Meryl Comer to make the case that cognitive decline is not inevitable. From the difference between biological and chronological age, to the...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. In part two of Meryl Comer’s conversation with Dr. Nathaniel Chin — geriatrician, researcher, and author of When Memory Fades — they explore the practical and emotional realities of life after an Alzheimer's diagnosis. Drawing on both his clinical expertise and personal experience of caring for his father, Dr. Chin addresses the often-overloo...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. What if knowing sooner could change everything? In this episode of BrainStorm , host Meryl Comer sits down with Dr. Nathaniel Chin — geriatrician, Alzheimer's researcher, and author of When Memory Fades: What to Expect at Every Stage, from Early Signs to Full Support for Alzheimer's and Dementia, to explore why early diagnosis of Alzheim...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. In this episode of BrainStorm by UsAgainstAlzheimers, host Meryl Comer continues her conversation with Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, Founder and Chief Director of the Center for Brain Health at UT Dallas, about how to build a more resilient brain in the face of modern life's relentless stressors. Dr. Chapman breaks down the difference between acut...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. What if you could train your brain to outperform the very biomarkers that signal Alzheimer's risk? In this episode of BrainStorm by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s host Meryl Comer sits down with Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, founder of the Center for Brain Health at UT Dallas, to explore the groundbreaking science behind the Brain Health Project — a landmar...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. In part one of a series on UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Brain Health Journey host Meryl Comer is joined by Nancy Meserve, a lived experience advisor and APOE4 double-carrier, and Catherine Patterson, interim COO of UsAgainstAlzheimer's. Their conversation explores the newly launched Brain Health Journey — a suite of resources designed to help people...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. Host Meryl Comer continues her conversation with Dr. Jason Karlawish, professor of medicine, medical ethics, and neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, about the evolving landscape of Alzheimer's disease. Drawing on his book The Problem with Alzheimer's , Dr. Karlawish explores the promise of early detection, the ethical complexiti...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. What happens when your carefully mapped career path collides with an Alzheimer's diagnosis — and you're only 26? In this deeply personal episode of BrainStorm by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, host Meryl Comer sits down with Jessica Guthrie, founder of the online platform Career and Caregiving Collide , whose life changed forever when her mother...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. Alzheimer's disease is no longer just a memory problem — it's a biological, cultural, and ethical challenge reshaping how we think about aging, identity, and medicine. In this episode of Brainstorm by UsAgainstAlzheimers, host Meryl Comer sits down with Dr. Jason Karlawish, professor of medicine, medical ethics, health policy, and neurol...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. In honor of Black History Month, this episode of BrainStorm by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s explores the critical intersection of Alzheimer's disease and health equity in African-American communities. Host Meryl Comer talks with Daphne Delgado, Vice President for Health Equity at UsAgainstAlzheimer's, and Dr. Charlene Whitaker-Brown, a clinical...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. This episode of BrainStorm, by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, features host Meryl Comer interviewing Leah Fisher, a psychotherapist and author who took a bold year-long solo travel sabbatical at age 60 to explore different cultures while maintaining her marriage. The conversation takes a poignant turn as Fisher reveals that after the events in her book, sh...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. BrainStorm guest Vradenburg, Chairman and Founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer's, sits down with host Meryl Comer for a comprehensive look at the state of Alzheimer's research, advocacy, and care in 2025. Vradenburg addresses critical challenges facing the Alzheimer's community, including threats to NIH funding and the impact of funding in...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. Ep 99: The Future of Alzheimer's Trials: AI, Biomarkers, and Remote Research – John Dwyer, CEO of The Global Alzheimer’s Platform In part 2 John Dwyer, CEO of the Global Alzheimer's Platform (GAP), and BrainStorm host Meryl Comer discuss transforming Alzheimer's research and clinical trials. Dwyer shares how the field is shifting to...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. The quest to speed up clinical trials is personal for John Dwyer, CEO of the Global Alzheimer's Platform (GAP). A long-time UsA2 advocate, he’s been motivated by the generations of family members lost to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Dwyer shares with BrainStorm host Meryl Comer the critical challenges of NIH funding cuts by...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. Diane Rehm, the legendary 89-year-old NPR talk show host, discusses her passionate advocacy for medical aid in dying with BrainStorm host, Meryl Comer. Rehm’s view was shaped by her husband John's difficult death from Parkinson's disease and the experience transformed her into a fierce advocate for end-of-life autonomy. She's adaman...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. Dr. Rachel Buckley discusses the critical link between menopause and Alzheimer's risk in women with BrainStorm host Meryl Comer. Dr. Buckley explains that early menopause can be associated with faster cognitive decline and higher tau levels in the brain. She emphasizes the importance of timing for hormone replacement therapy and how estrogen...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. Dr. Rachel Buckley of Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School discusses groundbreaking research revealing stark sex differences in Alzheimer's disease with BrainStorm host Meryl Comer. Her studies found that while men and women show similar levels of amyloid protein, women consistently display significantly higher levels of tau. This...

BrainStorm wants to hear from you! Send us a text. In this deeply moving episode of BrainStorm by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, Emma Heming Willis shares her intimate journey as a caregiver to her husband Bruce Willis, who lives with frontotemporal dementia. Their conversation covers the progression from early warning signs to diagnosis and the complex decisions required in caregiving - including the hear...