Professor Honored For Alzheimer’s Research

Harvard Psychology Professor Randy L. Buckner won the 2010 MetLife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer’s Disease last Thursday for his research in brain imaging.

Buckner was honored at an award presentation with colleague Marcus E. Raichle, a professor of radiology and neurology at Washington University in St. Louis.

For their efforts, Buckner and Raichle each received a $200,000 research grant and a $50,000 personal award.

“I was surprised and honored to learn about the award. It was a particular pleasure to learn that I would be receiving [it] with my long-time colleague, Marcus Raichle. Marcus is the pioneer of human functional brain imaging and was my inspiration for entering the field,” Buckner said.

Buckner applies brain imaging techniques to observe the role of certain brain systems in cognition. He analyzes how brain systems help people remember and why those systems break down in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Buckner has been studying these issues for more than 20 years, beginning as a graduate student at Washington University.

Buckner improved an imaging technique that has allowed researchers to look into the brain and observe how people form memories.

“The brain is never at rest, including our memory systems,” Buckner said. “There is a surprisingly high amount of spontaneous activity even during passive moments and sleep ... What we discovered is that the regions of the brain with the highest levels of intrinsic activity are those most vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease.”

The MetLife Foundation has awarded over $19 million for Alzheimer’s research and awareness over the last 20 years.

“He’s done some very important work,” said Harvard Psychology Professor Daniel L. Schacter. “It’s good news for everybody in the psychology department.”

In a Feb. 24 press release, MetLife CEO C. Robert Henrikson said, “We salute two outstanding scientists who take their place among a leading group of researchers recognized for developing methods to combat and, perhaps someday, prevent Alzheimer’s disease from impacting future generations.

“There’s so much more work to be done,” Buckner said, “I feel like we are just getting started.”