Bill Gates Funds Alzheimer Research, but Was an Opportunity Missed?

Hello. I am Dr Richard Isaacson, a neurologist and director of the Alzheimer Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine and the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.

You may have heard the news that Bill Gates has thrown his hat into the ring to find a cure for Alzheimer disease. Just recently, he came out and said for the first time that his father suffers from Alzheimer disease. He wants to help make a dent in the outlook for this condition. He has committed about $100 million of his own funds as a first round toward doing something exciting.

Although this is a really invigorating piece of news for those who are in the Alzheimer disease research community, when I heard the news and when I saw the press, a part of me wondered whether this great opportunity could be a missed opportunity. By that I mean, this is a great effort, and it is super vitally important that we put a lot of heads together, put a lot of money into the ring, and fight for the cure. We need a cure as soon as possible.

But while we wait for the cures of tomorrow, using basic science research and a multipronged attack from a variety of companies and philanthropic and commercial partners, I believe we should realize that perhaps we can do something today.