About Dr. Daniel I. Kaufer
Dr. Kaufer was a renowned neurologist specializing in frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body dementia at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Dr. Kaufer started his journey here at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He received a bachelor's degree in molecular biology and zoology in 1983 and a medical degree from the UW School of Medicine and Public Health in 1988. He has credited the University of Wisconsin with teaching him to think like a physician.
Dr. Kaufer went on to complete his residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was a professor of neurology at UNC, founding director of the UNC Memory Disorders Program, chief of the Memory and Cognitive Disorders Division in the Department of Neurology, and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Kaufer passed away on July 2, 2020, after receiving a sudden cancer diagnosis. He was 61. This annual lecture is just one way his legacy of inspiring new generations of medical professionals lives on.
The Dr. Daniel I. Kaufer Lecture is an educational program intended to promote and share current Alzheimer's disease research. Prior to his death, Dr. Kaufer donated a gift to the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s to establish an annual endowed lecture continuing his commitment to dementia care. This event is designed for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) researchers and professionals working in dementia care.
Upcoming Event
June 6, 2023
3:30–5 p.m. via Zoom
No registration is required. Launch Zoom to view the program.
Keynote Presentation
"Agitation is not a disease: How can we better manage the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia?"
Keynote Speaker
Helen C. Kales, MD, Joe P. Tupin Endowed Professor of Psychiatry, Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis
Speaker Bio
Helen C. Kales, MD, serves as chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Prior to this, she was professor of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan and a research investigator in the Center for Clinical Management Research and the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center in the VA Ann Arbor Health System. She is the founding Director of the University of Michigan’s Program for Positive Aging (PPA), established in 2009, which moved to UC Davis with her transition in 2019. As a fellowship-trained, board-certified geriatric psychiatrist, her research program is directly informed by her clinical work and experiences with patients, families, providers and systems to diminish the barriers to effective and high-quality care for older people with mental health issues and/or dementia and their caregivers. She is recognized as a national and international expert in outcomes related to later-life depression, the risks of the use of antipsychotic and other psychotropic medications in older adults, and in researching ways to improve dementia care. In recognition of her work in the field of dementia care, Kales was named to the standing Lancet Global Commission on Dementia Care in 2015 and has been continuously federally-funded since 2004, serving as principal investigator on 10 federally-funded grants. In her work with junior investigators, she currently serves as a mentor to four faculty with NIA career development funding.
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Past Events
June 6, 2022
"Regenerating the Alzheimer’s Brain: Allopregnanolone as a Regenerative Therapeutic Proof of Concept"
This virtual event was held on Zoom. Watch the recording.
Keynote Speaker: Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, director, Center for Innovation in Brain Science, professor, Departments of Pharmacology and Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona
Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, is an internationally recognized expert in Alzheimer’s disease with a particular focus on mechanisms underlying the increased risk of the disease in the female brain. For both women and men, she is developing the first regenerative therapeutic for Alzheimer’s disease.
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June 1, 2021
"Diagnosis and Management of Dementia with Lewy Bodies"
This virtual event was held on Zoom. Watch a recording.
The inaugural Dr. Daniel I. Kaufer Lecture was presented by guest lecturer Bradley F. Boeve, MD, Mayo Clinic. Dr. Boeve’s clinical and research interests include normal aging, neurodegenerative disorders that cause cognitive impairment or dementia, neurogenetics, prion disorders, and neurological sleep disorders.
