Award-winning Neuroscientist and Leading Expert on Dementia Joins FAU

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May 29, 2015, 09:07 ET

BOCA RATON, Fla., May 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An award-winning neuroscientist who has held clinical and research positions at some of the country's major medical centers, and is one of the leading international experts on a specific form of dementia, has come to Florida Atlantic University.

James E. Galvin, M.D., M.P.H., joins FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine as professor of clinical biomedical science with a joint appointment as a professor in the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. He also will serve as the associate dean for clinical research in the Schmidt College of Medicine and medical director of the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center.

Later this year, Galvin also will assume an administrative and clinical appointment as director of the Toby and Leon Cooperman Center for Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's disease at the Marcus Neuroscience Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital.

FAU President John Kelly said Galvin is a game-changer for the university.

"Dr. Galvin is one of the most prominent neuroscientists in the country," Kelly said. "He brings to FAU a research portfolio that is both broad and deep, and immediately elevates our neuroscience initiatives to a national level. He is exactly the caliber of faculty we are now recruiting here."

With more than 150 scientific manuscripts and three textbooks published on Alzheimer's disease and dementia, Galvin is one of the leading international experts on "Lewy Body Dementia," where patients simultaneously experience losses in cognitive function, mobility, and behavior. He also has generated millions of dollars in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alzheimer Association, Michael J. Fox Foundation, local and state Departments of Health, and private foundations.

In his new roles, he will work in two key areas: To build a clinical research infrastructure that will rapidly test new therapies and accelerate these innovations to market; and to create a novel clinical component that will develop new, comprehensive approaches of care for people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia and their families to improve their quality of life.

Galvin said his team will redesign the healthcare system to create more effective ways to provide early diagnosis, deliver appropriate treatment to patients that improves their quality of care, provides support for family caregivers, and reduces healthcare costs. These efforts will complement an active research program developing and testing new medications and diagnostics.

"These can be devastating diseases," Galvin said. "We will work on how to detect the diseases as early as possible, make the most accurate diagnoses, and initiate treatment at first sign of detection. That's how we can do the most for people."

"We're not necessarily making people live longer," he said. "We're hopefully making them live better by improving their quality of life while they're alive."

Prior to joining FAU, Galvin held concurrent positions at New York University, including professor of neurology and psychiatry and professor of population health at the NYU Langone School of Medicine, professor of nutrition and public health at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, and professor of nursing at the NYU College of Nursing.

Previously, he held faculty positions at Washington University in St. Louis and at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia.

Daniel Flynn, Ph.D., vice president for research at FAU, said Galvin's appointment with Boca Raton Regional Hospital adds an exciting clinical dimension to the role. Galvin's research will promote clinical collaborations with research faculty in the Colleges of medicine and nursing, as well as the FAU Life Sciences' initiative at the University's John D. MacArthur Campus in Jupiter. This effort will promote the translation of new research findings to patient populations.

In association with Dr. David Bjorkman, dean of the College of Medicine, and Marlaine Smith, Ph.D., dean of the College of Nursing, along with other FAU faculty, Galvin will lead efforts to fast-track discoveries from the laboratory to the patient.

"The clinical element is the perfect accompaniment to Dr. Galvin's research," Flynn said. "It helps bridge the gap between theory and practice. Accelerating innovations to market is the true difference-maker in how Dr. Galvin will operate at FAU and represents a new opportunity and direction for FAU research."

About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.

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CONTACT: Gisele Galoustian, 561-297-2676, [email protected]

SOURCE Florida Atlantic University