Stefania Forner, Ph.D., is director, Medical & Scientific Relations at the Alzheimer’s Association. In this role, she oversees a portfolio of the Association’s Medical and Scientific grants team. As the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer's research, the Association is currently investing more than $405 million in over 1,100 active best-of-field projects in 56 countries, spanning six continents.
She provides leadership to the International Research Grant Program (IRGP), which funds investigations to advance our understanding of Alzheimer's disease, identify new treatment strategies, improve care for people with dementia, and further our knowledge of brain health and disease prevention. She also oversees numerous fellowship programs, including the Zenith Fellows Program and the Global Health Leaders Program alongside the Global Brain Health Institute and Alzheimer’s Society in the United Kingdom.
Representing the Alzheimer’s Association, Dr. Forner serves as the co-chair of the Research Workforce and Early Career Development for Health Research Alliance, which works to foster “an equitable, diverse, motivated and healthy research workforce.” She is passionate about helping early career investigators to advance in the field through the development of resources such as webinars about the Association’s funding programs and networking opportunities for awardees. Dr. Forner provides critical leadership to the Association’s Alzheimer’s dementia research initiatives, which advance vital work toward methods of treatment, prevention and, ultimately, a cure.
Dr. Forner holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in pharmacology from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Dr. Forner did her postdoctoral training at University of California, Irvine.