Roberta Brinton

Roberta Diaz Brinton, Ph.D. is the Director of the Center for Innovation in Brain Science at the University of Arizona, where she is Professor of Pharmacology and Neurology in the College of Medicine. She is internationally recognized as an innovative leader in Alzheimer’s research and the development of therapeutics to prevent, delay, and treat the disease.

Research in the Brinton laboratory focuses on the discovery of mechanisms underlying the development of Alzheimer’s in the aging brain and on translating those discoveries into therapeutics to prevent, delay and treat the disease. Brinton has developed therapeutics that restore energy production and neural stem cell regeneration in the brain to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s. Outcomes of her discovery and translational research have led to multiple NIH Phase 1 and 2 funded clinical trials and Foundation-funded bridging trials.

Dr. Brinton’s research has been continuously funded by NIH from her pre-doctoral years to the present. Current funders of her research include the National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, and the Alzheimer’s Association.

Dr. Brinton has over 200 publications and holds multiple patents targeting Alzheimer’s disease, age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, and sustaining neurological health during aging. Her research has appeared in over 100 global media outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, ABC, CBS, and NPR Science Friday.

Dr. Brinton was awarded the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation Scientist of the Year, The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation Goodes Prize, Woman of the Year by the California State Senate, Science Educator of the Year by the Society for Neuroscience, and Los Angeles Magazine Woman of the Year. She was also recognized as one of the Ten Best Minds by US News and World Report. For her decades of commitment to science education for the inner-city youth of Los Angeles, Dr. Brinton received the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2010 from President Obama.