Welcome to Minding Memory. In this podcast we discuss topics related to dementia research. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for dementia research, and we have topics for both those new to the space as well as old pros. We start with some basics, like: What exactly is dementia? What are the different types of dementia? What is the TICS, if not a swarm of blood-sucking insects? But we also invite researchers on to discuss their interesting work to give you a glimpse at the questions, data, and methods moving the field forward.
Minding Memory is co-hosted by Matthew Davis and Lauren Gerlach. Matt and Lauren are health services researchers and professors at the University of Michigan. Matt’s PhD is in Data Science and Lauren is a geriatric psychiatrist. The Minding Memory podcast is part of the Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) (https://capra.med.umich.edu/) at the University of Michigan, supported by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health. Additional support also comes from the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. The content of this podcast does not represent the views of the National Institutes of Health or the University of Michigan. Please consider subscribing to this podcast and make sure to check out our website. On our website you’ll also find links to the center’s seminar series and data products created specifically for dementia research.
You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minding-memory/id1589848689), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/0fYyXA7a5jAqg7fEpBf6KK), or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Is the United States Lagging Behind Europe in Memory Improvement?
In this episode, Lauren & Matt speak with Neil Mehta, PhD who is the associate dean for research and a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Dr. Mehta’s research focuses on US life expectancy trends, the effects of obesity on disability and mortality, the sources of socioeconomic status disparities in mortality, and patterns of health in the United States and Europe.
Dr. Mehta talks about a recent manuscript from the NIA-funded TRENDS study called “Trends in Memory Function and Memory Impairment Among Older Adults in the United States and Europe, 1996 to 2018.”, which looks at data from several sources to compare trends in memory function across 13 different countries.
The transcript for this episode can be found here (https://www.michiganmedicine.org/minding-memory/united-states-lagging-behind-europe-memory-improvement).
Neil Mehta, PhD Faculty Profile (https://www.utmb.edu/spph/about-us/faculty/profile/spph-people/mehta-nemehta)
Article Discussed in the Episode:
Myrskylä M, Hale JM, Schneider DC, Mehta NK. Trends in Memory Function and Memory Impairment Among Older Adults in the United States and Europe, 1996-2018. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2024 Nov 7;79(21 Suppl 11):S11-S21. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glae154. PMID: 38953519 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38953519/); PMCID: PMC11542220.
You can listen on the Michigan Medicine podcasting network (https://www.michiganmedicine.org/minding-memory) and other podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minding-memory/id1589848689) and Spotify. (https://open.spotify.com/show/0fYyXA7a5jAqg7fEpBf6KK) This episode is also available on our CAPRA website (https://capra.med.umich.edu/news-events/minding-memory-podcast/).
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14 Sept 2026
The Care Ecosystem: Supporting People Living with Dementia and Their Families
Welcome back to Season 6 of Minding Memory! In this episode, Lauren & Matt speak with Dr. Katherine (Kate) Possin, who holds the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation Professorship at the University of California, San Francisco Fein Memory & Aging Center.
Dr. Possin talks about the Care Ecosystem, a telephone and web-based model that provides ongoing education, support, care planning, and coordination for people living with dementia and their care partners. They’ll dig into how the Care Ecosystem was developed, and what studies have shown about its impact on people living with dementia.
The transcript for this episode can be found here (https://www.michiganmedicine.org/minding-memory/care-ecosystem-supporting-people-living-dementia-and-their-families).
Katherine Possin, PhD Faculty Profile (https://memory.ucsf.edu/people/katherine-possin)
The Care Ecosystem at the UCSF Fein Memory & Aging Center (https://memory.ucsf.edu/healthcare-professionals/care-ecosystem)
Article Discussed in the Episode:
Atkins KJ, Kahn JG, Possin KL. Cost-effectiveness and impact at Scale of Collaborative Care and Lecanemab for Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's Dement. 2026; 2:e70054. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsa3.70054 (https://doi.org/10.1002/bsa3.70054)
You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minding-memory/id1589848689), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/0fYyXA7a5jAqg7fEpBf6KK), or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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4 May 2026
Addressing Senior Social Isolation in the Community
In this episode, Matt & Lauren build off their previous conversation with Ashwin Kotwal about social isolation by speaking with Eve Lefkowitz, the Executive Director of the non-profit organization, A Conversation to Remember, which connects older adults – including those who live with cognitive decline – with young adult college students to combat the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness. Lauren & Matt learn about the populations this non-profit serve as well as perspectives on how to address social isolation with older adults.
Episode Transcript (https://www.michiganmedicine.org/minding-memory/addressing-senior-social-isolation-community)
Resources:
c2r.chat: Conversations to Remember (https://conversationstoremember.org/)
You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minding-memory/id1589848689), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/0fYyXA7a5jAqg7fEpBf6KK), or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.4 / 5
7 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 34 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
37
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
77
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