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- Posted Wednesday March 5, 2014
TGen's MindCrowd.org social media study is finalist for international social-impact award
CLASSY Awards recognizes Alzheimer's disease investigation by TGen
PHOENIX, Ariz. - March 5, 2014 - MindCrowd.org, an innovative
social-media investigation of Alzheimer's disease by the Translational
Genomics Research Institute (TGen), is a CLASSY Awards
finalist, the organization announced today.
The CLASSY Awards is the largest social impact celebration,
recognizing the world's greatest champions of social progress and
encouraging the brightest minds to engage in conversations around
social problems and solutions. The 5th annual CLASSY Awards will be
May 3 at the Marriott Marquis in San Diego.
"We at TGen are honored to have the MindCrowd.org project
recognized by CLASSY. It demonstrates that there are new ways to do
science in a way that engages the public, and is ultimately for the
public good," said Dr. Matt Huentelman, an Associate Professor in
TGen's Neurogenomics Division and head of the project.
"We encourage as many participants as possible to join us at
mindcrowd.org and take their turn discovering something about
themselves in our 10-minute, anonymous test," Dr. Huentelman said.
"Even those with healthy brains can teach us something about how
the mind works, and contribute to a greater understanding of this
memory-robbing disease."
Nearly 28,000 volunteers have already taken the test. Researchers
aim to gather results from as many as 1 million participants.
MindCrowd is fun and interactive. It lets participants explore
their own data.
TGen plans to use a combination of statistical analysis of the
data - and genetic testing - to identify those factors associated
with brain performance.
MindCrowd is a web-based scientific study of how our brain learns
and remembers items of information. The goal of MindCrowd is to
better understand these processes and develop a better-informed
cure for Alzheimer's.
MindCrowd should enable us to identify changes in the human genome
and demographic factors linked to brain performance, helping us
fight Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's disease is a socioeconomic epidemic that promises to
continue to significantly impact our society at multiple levels if
we don't identify ways to prevent or slow the disease. There are
more than 5 million Americans living with the disease, it is the
6th leading cause of death in the U.S., and cost the nation more
than $200 billion to treat annually.
Winners will be determined by the CLASSY Leadership Council on
Health, one of eight panels of experts representing academia,
community foundations, for-profit corporations, global
non-government organizations, industry experts, media
professionals, nonprofits, philanthropists, private foundations,
policymakers, public figures, social entrepreneurs, and a student
fellow.
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About the Classy Awards
The CLASSY Awards is the largest social impact awards ceremony in
the United States, highlighting the greatest champions of social
progress. From May 2-3, 2014, top leaders from the social sector
will convene in San Diego to connect in an environment that drives
collaboration around solving social problems.
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About TGen
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix,
Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting
groundbreaking research with life changing results. TGen is focused
on helping patients with cancer, neurological disorders and
diabetes, through cutting edge translational research (the process
of rapidly moving research towards patient benefit). TGen
physicians and scientists work to unravel the genetic components of
both common and rare complex diseases in adults and children.
Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical
communities literally worldwide, TGen makes a substantial
contribution to help our patients through efficiency and
effectiveness of the translational process. For more information,
visit:www.tgen.org.
Press Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
