June 23, 2008
University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher David Sweatt and the work of his lab was highlighted on the Public Broadcast System television show NOVA, Wednesday, June 25th. The program explores Sweatt's research into long-term memory formation. See more of Dr. Sweatt's research on BlazerCast .
Sweatt, the Evelyn F. McKnight Endowed Chair of the Department of Neurobiology and director of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute at UAB, and his lab found that there is a molecular and structural change in DNA at the time of long-term memory formation. He and others around the world now are exploring how to manipulate this finding in the hopes of finding new treatments for age-related memory loss and diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease.
"This is a classic example of science," Sweatt said. "We have made a basic biochemical finding, taken it to an animal model and hope to see if we can a way to overcome age-related memory problems, including Alzheimer's Disease, in humans." Sweatt describes what has come to be known as moving findings from bench to bedside.
Sweatt says the McKnight Foundation serves as a catalyst for just this type of research as it relates to age-related memory disorders. He says that through their efforts, UAB has been able to recruit highly regarded scientists into memory disorder research.