A project born from a mission to serve more memory disorders patients with the most cutting-edge care options, the new UAB Brain Aging and Memory Hub will be opening its doors on the fifth floor of Callahan Eye Hospital this month.

A heightened number of people in Alabama diagnosed with memory disorders coupled with recent FDA approval of the first therapies that can slow the process of Alzheimer’s disease led to the initiative to build an integrated care center for patients to receive the most effective treatments available. It was an effort made possible with the support of the UAB Health System and Heersink School of Medicine.

Two divisions within the Department of Neurology, Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology (formerly Memory), will be moving clinical, academic, and administrative operations to the new Brain Aging and Memory Hub. In addition, the Alzheimer’s Disease Center (ADC) and the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute will be relocating to the space.

The Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology will officially move on March 8, with the Division of Neuropsychology following the subsequent week. The first date the Brain Aging and Memory Hub will be receiving patients is slated for March 12. 

David Geldmacher, M.D., FACP, director of the Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, said that the creation of the Brain Aging and Memory Hub itself will help streamline clinical efforts.

“All of the Department of Neurology’s clinical groups that focus on cognition will be sharing one extended space,” Geldmacher said. “So that allows for much more collaboration and interaction.”

That collaboration, he said, will also benefit research to advance new methods of treatment for patients served by the Brain Aging and Memory Hub.

“It will allow us to continue to develop innovative models of care for people with cognitive impairment,” Geldmacher added.

The nearly 20,000 square-foot space will also be the new home to the Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute. The ADC will be moving on March 8, along with the UAB Brain Aging and Memory Clinic.

“Having the ADC co-located with the Brain Aging and Memory Clinic will provide renewed synergy between clinical and research endeavors, said. Erik Roberson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the CNET Division and the ADC. “This strategic move marks a pivotal moment in our collective pursuit of advancing Alzheimer’s research and care.”

An official ribbon cutting for the Brain Aging and Memory Hub will take place in April.