Dr. Jeffrey L. Cummings

Research Professor, Department of Brain Health
Director, Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience at UNLV
Expertise: Neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s Disease, drug development, clinical trials, neurotherapeutics

Biography

Jeffrey L. Cummings, MD, ScD, joined the UNLV School of Integrated Health Sciences in 2019 as research professor within the department of brain health. Dr. Cummings is the Joy Chambers-Grundy Professor of Brain Science, an endowed professorship. He is the Director of the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience, a center devoted to using the tools of neuroscience and neurologic drug development to transform people’s lives.

Prior to UNLV, Dr. Cummings served as founding director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, and as director of the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, and director of the Deane F. Johnson Center for Neurotherapeutics, both at UCLA.

A world-renowned Alzheimer’s researcher and leader of clinical trials, Dr. Cummings has been recognized for his scientific and leadership contributions with the American Geriatrics Society’s Henderson Award (2006), the national Alzheimer’s Association’s Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Award (2008), the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry’s Distinguished Scientist Award (2010), and the Melvin R. Goodes Prize from the the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (2019).

Dr. Cummings’ interests embrace clinical trials, developing new therapies for brain diseases, and the interface of neuroscience and society. Dr. Cummings has published nearly 800 articles and 44 books devoted to neuroscience, Alzheimer’s disease, and clinical trials.

Dr. Cummings received the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), the International Society of CNS Drug Development’s Leadership and Achievement Award and the national Alzheimer’s Association’s Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award (2018).

Additionally, he was featured in Gentleman’s Quarterly (June 2009) as a “Rock Star of Science. ™” In addition to his work at UNLV, Dr. Cummings is professor of medicine (Neurology) at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, and he is principal investigator/director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences-funded Center for Neurodegeneration and Translational Neuroscience.

Education

  • Sc.D., Science, University of Wyoming
  • Neurology fellowship, Boston University School of Medicine
  • Neuropathology/Neuropsychiatry fellowship, National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, London
  • M.D., Medicine, University of Washington
  • B.S., Zoology/Philosophy, University of Wyoming

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Dr. Jeffrey L. Cummings In The News

PR Newswire
The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) will be leading a roundtable, "Advancing Combination Therapy: Discussion on Key Considerations, Perspectives, and Promising Avenues for the Future of Alzheimer's Treatments," at the 2024 Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) conference, which will be held October 29th through November 1st in Madrid, Spain.
GlobeNewswire
Today, Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation® (GAP) and the ҳ| 鶹ýӳ (UNLV), announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding a collaboration to accelerate research for neurodegenerative diseases. This includes establishing a state-of-the-art imaging and emerging technology program dedicated to the development and implementation of new and innovative biomarker and diagnostic solutions for central nervous system (CNS) research.
PR Newswire
The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) today announced a new investment to develop a first-of-its-kind Biomarker Observatory that will provide a comprehensive overview of the Alzheimer's biomarkers pipeline, including blood tests, brain scans, digital devices, and other tools that can help diagnose and monitor the disease. These efforts will be led by renowned clinical trialist Jeffrey Cummings, MD, ScD, Joy Chambers-Grundy Professor of Brain Science at the School of Integrated Health Sciences at ҳ| 鶹ýӳ with Co-Principal Investigator Feixiong Cheng, PhD, from the Laboratory of Network Medicine at Cleveland Clinic. This Observatory will fill a critical gap by creating the first thorough overview of the biomarker pipeline, serving as a key resource to catalyze progress in drug development.
BioSpace
Over the past two years, Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla, both anti-amyloid antibodies, made history as the first real options to slow cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease. For years, amyloid plaques and tau tangles have been a primary target of Alzheimer’s disease research and drug development, but while affecting these proteins may yield some benefit, the illness continues to progress. Today, multiple therapeutics are in Phase III trials with other targets, suggesting that within the next few years it may become possible to treat Alzheimer’s via multiple pathways.

Articles Featuring Dr. Jeffrey L. Cummings

Josh Hawkins, UNLV
Campus News | July 3, 2024

News highlights featuring UNLV students and staff who made (refreshing) waves in the headlines.

students in spring
Campus News | May 1, 2024

News highlights starring UNLV students and faculty who made local and national headlines.