The Alzheimer’s Association Innovation Roundtable (AAIR) brings together innovators, champions, experts and thought leaders across the health care sector. Together, the AAIR will look for ways to reduce risk, improve early detection and increase access to evidence-based, person-centered care for those facing Alzheimer’s and all other dementia.
AAIR objectives
- Advise: Assess the state of health care in relation to dementia and identify areas of strategic need.
- Innovate: Generate recommendations, challenge assumptions and collaborate to bring novel products and solutions to market.
- Influence: Inspire buy-in and impact adoption of best practices in evidence-based, person-centered care across the health system spectrum.
Innovation and connection
The AAIR will reimagine the dementia care experience by taking a dual transformation view—strengthening today’s approaches while simultaneously creating tomorrow’s opportunities. Ways the AAIR will leverage collective strengths and entrepreneurial energy include:
- Impact-focused meetings: Facilitated innovation sessions, networking opportunities and collaboration with those affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
- Webinars: Member-exclusive and public webinars to share business intelligence and showcase thought leadership.
- Alzheimer’s Association Pitch Competition: Annual global innovation competition for startups to pitch technologies, products and solutions for innovations that increase cognitive assessment and early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and other dementia within primary care settings.
Alzheimer’s Association Pitch Competition
The Alzheimer’s Association and MATTER launched the second annual Alzheimer’s Association Pitch Competition, a global call for innovations that increase access to quality, person-centered care for underserved communities affected by Alzheimer’s disease. The competition received 35 submissions from 10 countries and selected five finalists:
- Top prize: Onward for their door-through-door companion rideshare services and transportation management solutions. Onward works to eradicate transportation as a barrier to timely healthcare and reduce caregiver burden.
- Runner up: LumeNeuro for their patented medical device enabling dye-free detection of proteins in the retina of the eye. The simple eye exam identifies proteins that are biomarkers for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, long before symptoms occur.
- Audience Choice Award: Ellison Laboratories for their solution that assembles a longitudinal patient record helping caregivers manage care and giving providers needed information to inform diagnoses and develop appropriate treatment plans.
- Other finalists: SandwYch and The Dementia Inclusive Design Hub at Texas State University.
AAIR participants
Co-Chairs:
Ashley Alexander
President and CEO, Kelsey Research Foundation, the non-profit research affiliate of
Kelsey Seybold Clinic
Nicole Purcell, D.O., M.S.
Neurologist, Lehigh Valley, Fleming Neuroscience Institute
Roundtable Specialty Advisory Group:
Teresa Leon Colombo, M.D., Ph.D.
Scientific Vice President, Novo Nordisk
Traci Schilling, M.D.
Associate Vice President, U.S. Medical Affairs, Neuroscience, Lilly
Chuck Sabino
Vice President, U.S. Alzheimer’s Disease Commercial, Eisai
Diana Slowiejko, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
Principle Med Science Director, Neuroscience and Rare Diseases, Genentech
Marwan Sabbagh, M.D., FAAN
Vice Chairman for Research and Professor, Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, CommonSpirit
Gary Romano, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer, Alector
Government Agency Partners:
Kelly Fegan-Bohm, MD, MPH, M.A.
Medical Director, Community Health Improvement Division, Texas Department of State Health Services
Desiree Partain, MHA
Transformation Manager,
MedStar Mobile Healthcare
For more information
For more information about the AAIR or how to join, please email
aair@alz.org.