Michael R. Dobbs, M.D., and Ann Wood at the second annual “FairfaxWood Amyloid Related Diseases Summit.”

Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine recently hosted the second annual “FairfaxWood Amyloid Related Diseases Summit,” bringing together leading scientists in the field across North America and Europe to discuss the latest research and advancements in the study of amyloid-related diseases.

Buildup of amyloid proteins, or fibrils, causes amyloidosis, a life-threatening disease that can affect various organs throughout the body, including the heart, kidneys, liver and brain. The most common localized manifestation of amyloidosis is in the brain. Cerebral amyloidosis usually manifests in one of two ways: as Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and as stroke.

Treatments are limited and there are no cures. Because amyloid does not affect just one organ, unraveling the underlying cause of amyloid fibril creation – a hallmark of this disease – is complex and challenging. 

In 2023, Boca Raton philanthropists Ann and the late John Wood of the FairfaxWood Scholarship Foundation, gave a transformational gift of $11.5 million to the FAU Schmidt College of Medicine in support of amyloidosis research. This gift established the FairfaxWood Health & Innovation Technology Initiative, the FAU Amyloidosis Project, and the endowed FairfaxWood Chair of Clinical Neurosciences. Today, the FairfaxWood Health & Innovation Technology Initiative is changing the way researchers and clinicians study and treat amyloidosis and other serious medical conditions.

“Amyloidosis is an awful disease that deserves to be thoroughly researched to get results and to eliminate it,” said Ann Wood. “Our family was personally impacted – my husband, John Wood, in particular – so we are committed to making a difference by funding this annual summit, which took place in May at Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Michael Dobbs and his staff put much effort into this event, which was a great success. Many excellent ideas appeared to be fermenting including vaccines and artificial intelligence from the various summit participants – all in the right direction – and we are hopeful for future great successes on this blood ailment and quickly.”

Amyloidosis requires a multifaceted and synergistic approach to improve health and quality of life of those affected.

“To date, there are dozens of amyloid-protein related diseases, neurological disorders as well as cardiac, nerve and kidney diseases. There also are millions of people suffering from these diseases with the common thread of amyloid protein deposition,” said Michael R. Dobbs, M.D., the first endowed FairfaxWood Chair of Clinical Neurosciences, chair and professor of the Clinical Neurosciences Department and associate dean of clinical affairs within the College of Medicine. “Our summit is an important and timely conversation to bridge the gap between amyloid research and clinical practice.” 

The two-day summit program included the following presenters:

• Gregory Bix, M.D., Ph.D., director, Clinical Neuroscience Research Center, professor and vice chair of clinical and translational research, Department of Neurosurgery, Vada Odom Reynolds Chair in stroke research, and professor of neurology, Tulane University School of Medicine Center for Clinical Neurosciences
• Rosario Colombo, M.D., medical director, inpatient cardiovascular services and medical education, Jackson Heart Institute, associate program director, Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami, director, Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship, director, Cardiology Resident Pathway, Jackson Memorial/University of Miami
• Michael Dobbs, M.D., professor and chair, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, FairfaxWood Endowed Chair of Clinical Neurosciences, associate dean of clinical affairs, FAU College of Medicine
• Deguo Du, Ph.D., professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
• Gene Kinney, Ph.D., president, CEO and director, Prothena Corporation plc, chair of the board of directors, Libra Therapeutics
• Corinne Lasmezas, DVM, Ph.D., professor, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, director of the David and Lynn Nicholson Center for neurodegenerative disease research, FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute
• Jennifer Lee, Ph.D., senior investigator, Laboratory of Protein Conformation and Dynamics, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health
• Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy, Ph.D., Department of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Neuroscience, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
• Praveen P. Nekkar Rao, Ph.D., associate professor, pharmaceutical sciences, School of Pharmacy, Health Sciences Campus, University of Waterloo, Ontario 
• Erdem Gültekin Tamgüney, Ph.D., professor, Forschungszentrum Jülich & University of Düsseldorf, Germany
• Rui Tao, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical science, FAU College of Medicine
• Michael Turtz, director of administration, FAU College of Medicine, and a Ph.D. candidate, FAU School of Public Administration within the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
• Holger Wille, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and director, Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, and faculty of medicine and dentistry, College of Health Sciences

“This was truly an extraordinary gathering of multidisciplinary scientists, researchers and clinicians who share a common mission to combat amyloidosis,” said Lewis S. Nelson, M.D., dean of the FAU College of Medicine. “We are incredibly grateful to Ann Wood for her participation at this summit and for making this event possible. We are already seeing important collaborations between our Florida Atlantic scientists and the guest participants in the summit and there is more to come next year.”

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