Music and Memories Unite ADDF Community at Memories Matter Event Benefiting Alzheimer’s Research

The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) presented its Fourth Annual Memories Matter Event via live stream on Wednesday, April 7. In a special evening of stories and songs, the event united Alzheimer’s advocates, caregivers, families, and supporters around the ADDF’s mission to conquer Alzheimer’s disease, raising over $850,000 in donations to advance its research efforts.

The theme of this year’s Memories Matter was “Music and Memories.” The program opened with a musical number from ADDF board member Mitchell Kaneff, Memories Matter Founding Chair Ian Ginsberg, and Young Professionals Committee member Alec Ginsberg, who came together for the first time to explore the role music plays in connection to memory, and shared personal stories of families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease. The event also featured special guest appearances from Emmy and Tony award winner Bryan Cranston and ADDF Board of Governors Co-Vice Chair and Secretary Randal Sandler, as well as an ensemble of Broadway singers performing the worldwide hit song “Memories” by Maroon 5 as a tribute to those who have been lost to the disease and to the power of memories.

The ADDF, the only nonprofit solely devoted to finding new drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer’s, hosts their annual Memories Matter event to raise awareness of the devastating impact of this disease on patients, caregivers and families, particularly younger generations. The personal stories and discussions of Alzheimer’s shared during the event highlight the need to change the course of this disease with better drug therapies. The event was founded by ADDF Board Members Wendy Wilshin and Stephanie Ginsberg, who both lost their mothers to Alzheimer’s disease.

Ginsberg shared, “At my mother’s funeral, memories of her voice and who she truly was came flooding back. Memories matter. We’re all here today because we want to see Alzheimer’s disease become a distant memory.”

Wilshin continued, “Having the ability to connect to our past gives us our future. After a long and difficult year, we wanted to focus on things that give us hope. The power of music could not be overlooked. Music triggers parts of the brain that evoke emotions, and it's one of the last things to be destroyed by this disease.”

ADDF CEO Mark Roithmayr noted how many of the ADDF’s volunteers and donors are led to its mission by their deep personal connections to the disease, saying, “A nonprofit is only as good as its family and friends.” Roithmayr was joined by Dr. Howard Fillit, ADDF’s Founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer, who spoke to the science behind our mission and shared his perspective on what memories and music mean, both as a clinician and as someone who saw the impact of songs on his own father as he suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

Bryan Cranston, who lost his mother Audrey ‘Peggy’ Sell to Alzheimer’s in 2004, said, “Alzheimer's is a thief. It steals your loved ones away from you; and we have to find a way to stop this thief. It is vitally important that we continue research, treatment, and explore the world of drugs and how to mitigate the effects of Alzheimer's. The ADDF is doing just that, and we have to support them in their quest to not only take care of the people who are already afflicted with Alzheimer's, but those who will become afflicted with Alzheimer's. Their diligence in finding a cure; that's really the goal.”

Randal Sandler shared how he watched both his mother and mother-in-law suffer from the disease. “My mom was an avid volunteer of her time. I’m most proud of the time I’ve spent over the past years helping this organization to meet its audacious goal of ending Alzheimer’s in our lifetime because that motivation comes from my mom. It’s incredibly gratifying that the ADDF is at the forefront of a lot, if not all, of the most innovative ideas in Alzheimer’s research.”

As CEO Mark Roithmayr noted in his remarks, the ADDF was founded on three pillars: diagnostics, prevention, and drug discovery. Today, those three pillars still serve as our true north, especially as the ADDF’s focus has pivoted from pre-clinical to clinical research. 80% of the clinical trials we fund are now in phase 2, the phase that tests for efficacy and safety. In addition, the ADDF has one of the largest and most diverse clinical trial portfolios in the world, with 35 active trials targeting more than seven pathways that go awry during the aging process. In the next year alone, we’re expecting results from six of our most promising phase 2 trials.

Following the event’s first-time virtual live auction, which raised over $100,000, siblings Matt and Caitlin Fay, two members of ADDF Young Professionals Committee (YPC), a group dedicated to raising awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research, explained how they joined together after their father was diagnosed with the disease to raise funds through a series of events among a group of 20- and 30-year-old professionals. The Fay siblings’ fundraisers raised over $15,000 to support the ADDF.

“Having a network of people through the YPC and ADDF putting their time and money towards the Alzheimer’s cause to support my dad and others suffering from this disease is so empowering. If we continue to put our efforts all together, the possibilities are endless,” said Caitlin Fay.