News from the McCance Center

Greetings!

There is much energy and excitement at the McCance Center for Brain Health this season. We are thrilled to share that our much-anticipated NPC1 trial has enrolled its very first participants! Our dedicated team is working hard behind the scenes—conducting outreach and pre-screening potential candidates to keep this vital research moving forward. Read more about the trial below.

Additionally, I am proud to acknowledge several of our McCance-affiliated team members who have been recognized for their efforts with various awards. Scroll down to learn more and join me in congratulating them.

We have concluded our seminar series for this academic year and were pleased to learn about the transformational work of so many vibrant scientists. We look forward to the next round!

Best Wishes,

Rudy Tanzi, PhD

Director

NPC1 Progress Update

Enrollment is well underway for our NPC1 Clinical Trial (Natural Product Combination 1). As of mid-June, we have pre-screened about 30 people interested in the study, and two are actively enrolled in the trial.

The team has met with clinicians from the Mass General Brigham Division of Memory Disorders to provide information about the trial so they can share it with patients who may be interested in participating in the study.

Learn more about this exciting work here.

Awards & Accolades

Yeonsu Ryoo was selected as a winner of the 2026 Poster of Distinction Award (and awarded a $1,200 travel award) and was featured during the poster session at the MGB Celebration of Science in April.

Dmitry Prokopenko, Ph.D., received a grant from the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund for their project “Proteogenomic biomarkers for early detection of Alzheimer's disease.”

Matthias Hebisch, PhD, was awarded a Fellowship from the BrightFocus Foundation Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program. Dr. Hebisch received the funding for his Modeling Dementia in Brain Organoids with Alzheimer’s Disease study.

Listen In

McCance Center Director, Dr. Rudy Tanzi, was a recent guest on the Nothing Left Unsaid podcast, hosted by former NFL player Tim Green. Watch the full episode for an informative discussion about the importance of early detection and prevention treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Tanzi also recently appeared on the See See podcast hosted by CeCe. This episode spans the history of Alzheimer's disease from its first description in 1906 to the present day and the treatments now within our reach. Catch it here.

Seminar Series Wrap Up

The McCance Seminar Series recently concluded for the 2025 – 2026 academic year. We welcomed an impressive collection of clinicians and scientists from across Mass General Brigham and external centers to highlight new approaches to preventing brain disease and promoting brain health across the lifespan.

Many of these informative sessions were recorded and can be viewed on the Mass General Hospital YouTube channel. Keep an eye on our website for announcements about future speakers!

Brain Healthy Lifestyle Tips

Click on the image to learn about lifestyle interventions that can help protect your brain with the SHIELD Method, developed by McCance Center

Director, Dr. Rudy Tanzi.

on our clinical programs and research initiatives.

If you would like to learn more about how you can support

the McCance Center for Brain Health, please contact Michael Johnson

at mjohnson107@mgh.harvard.edu or 617-643-9989.