About this episode

Dr. Melissa Murray discusses the importance of brain banks in understanding Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.

Brain donation is helping researchers better understand why Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders develop, progress, and affect people differently.Dr. Melissa Murray is a professor of neuroscience at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, where her research focuses on the biological changes, including tauopathies, that drive Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative disorders.. At Mayo Clinic Florida she helps direct one of the world’s largest brain banks focused on these diseases, giving scientists access to donated brain tissue that can reveal details about diagnosis, disease progression, genetics, resilience and risk that cannot always be seen during life.In this conversation with Being Patient’s Mark Niu, Murray explains what tauopathies are, how tau and amyloid contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, and why brain banks are essential to understanding the many ways dementia can appear. She also discusses how brain donation can support biomarker development, genetic discoveries, and more specific diagnoses. She emphasizes that brain donation also offers families answers and helps researchers work toward better ways to detect, treat, and ultimately prevent…

More episodes of Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer's Patients and Caregivers

• What Drives Women’s Higher Alzheimer’s Risk? | Dr. Jessica Caldwell · May 20, 2026 · 27 min
• Juli Chenault on Recognizing the Early Signs of Dementia | Juli Chenault · May 13, 2026 · 22 min
• Leveraging Technology as Your Memory Shifts | Angela Cearns · April 29, 2026 · 42 min
• Ask Teepa Anything: Care Homes, Apathy, Sleep Changes, and Other Care Questions | Teepa Snow · April 22, 2026 · 1h 1m
• Two Women Changing the Dementia Narrative | Nancy Nelson & Kat Hartley · April 7, 2026 · 30 min
• Living With Posterior Cortical Atrophy | Andrew and Karina Reid · March 18, 2026 · 37 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer's Patients and Caregivers podcast page.