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	Doody named to Cain Chair in Alzheimer's research
	Leading neuroscientist gives address on Alzheimer's disease
	Ward off 'age' with simple lifestyle steps

Doody named to Cain Chair in Alzheimer's research

Baylor College of Medicine's Board of Trustees has appointed Dr. Rachelle Doody to become the Effie Marie Cain Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Research.

A two-time graduate of Rice University, Doody received a Bachelor of Arts in 1978 and both a Masters of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in 1992. She earned a Doctor of Medicine from BCM in 1983 before serving an internship in medicine at McGill University, Royal Victoria Hospital and Montreal Neurological Hospital and Institute in Montreal, Quebec.

Doody returned to Baylor in 1984 to serve a residency in neurology and has been a BCM instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, and currently a professor of neurology. In addition, she has also been chief of the Alzheimer's Disease Evaluation and Research Unit at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. She now serves as director of BCM's Alzheimer's Disease Center.

Leading neuroscientist gives address on Alzheimer's disease

Baroness Susan Greenfield, a professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, will discuss "The Neurodegenerative Nature of Alzheimer's" at noon March 8 in a speech at Baylor College of Medicine's Cullen Auditorium.

Her multidisciplinary research has explored novel neuronal mechanisms in the brain that are common to regions affected by neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

In addition to being director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, Greenfield is author of The Human Brain: A Guided Tour and Brain Story. The program is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association in partnership with BCM, the British Consulate, and the Gulf Coast Consortia, which consists of six prominent Houston-Galveston academic research institutions focused on interdisciplinary bioscience research and training.

The program is underwritten by Silverado Senior Living, a specialty Alzheimer's community in Sugarland that provides innovative care for residents with memory impairment.

Ward off 'age' with simple lifestyle steps

"As we age, our health risks increase," says Dr. Lawrence Chan, professor of medicine and molecular and cellular biology and chief of the division of diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism at BCM. "Today's baby boomers can lower their risks of illness associated with aging by adopting a healthier lifestyle."

The American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association and American Heart Association recently announced four guidelines that can reduce the risks of developing cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke:

• Eat a healthy diet
• Be active
• Don't smoke
• See a physician

"I recommend a balanced diet that is low in simple sugars and high in fiber. Thirty minutes of moderate exercise, five days a week has also proven to lower the risk of developing diabetes," says Chan, the Houston spokesman for the American Diabetes Association.

Chan encourages baby boomers to attain their ideal body weight, but warns that a trim exterior doesn't always signify first-rate health. Regular visits to a physician are necessary to evaluate individual health risks.

The risk factors of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke overlap, so decreasing the risk of one disease will essentially decrease the risks of others, says Chan.

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