URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Spring_2016_Melissa-McCarthy

Scientific understanding of the brain and nervous system are still in their infancy compared to research of other aspects of human physiology. Combine the complicated concept of consciousness with the complexities of neural and cellular communication, and it is no wonder why scientists call the brain the last frontier of medical science. But thanks to improvements in technology, researchers are poised to make dramatic advances, and some of these researchers are located at the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rhode Island (URI). “Disorders of the nervous system are probably the biggest health concern going forward, in part because most of them are age-associated at a time when Baby Boomers are just reaching the peak age for the onset of these terrible and very costly diseases,” says Paula Grammas, the inaugural director of the institute, who joined the URI faculty in December. “The numbers are frightening,” says Grammas. “We as scientists have always said that if we don’t invest early in developing therapies, we’re going to pay a lot more down the road in what these diseases are going to cost in lost productivity, not to mention the personal anguish, tragedy and other societal costs.”

Spring | 2016 Page 25