Research

'Behind the Blue': Leading the Way on Alzheimer’s Research With Linda Van Eldik of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 8, 2021) — The University of Kentucky is proud to be the home of global leaders in aging and brain research, all striving toward the same goal: finding a stop to the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.: Alzheimer’s disease.

UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging has been around for nearly half a century, helping lead the way in Alzheimer’s and dementia research. Sanders-Brown Center Director Linda Van Eldik, Ph.D., firmly believes they will find a cure through the work going on right here on the UK campus.

With their dedicated work recently earning the center renewed funding from the National Institute on Aging, education and community support are big parts of the role Sanders-Brown plays. In between various trainings, workshops and community events, they are also making life-changing and lifesaving discoveries.

Soon, Van Eldik and others at Sanders-Brown will be able to welcome a very valuable piece to their research — the volunteers — into a brand new facility at UK HealthCare’s Turfland campus.

On this episode of "Behind the Blue," Van Eldik joins UK Public Relations and Strategic Communications' Hillary Smith to discuss the larger game plan of finding a cure, and the team effort between those volunteers, the world-class faculty and staff at Sanders-Brown, and the University of Kentucky as a whole.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of “Behind the Blue” each week. UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email BehindTheBlue@uky.edu or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of "Behind the Blue" can be downloaded from the show’s blog page.

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As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.