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Casey Lynch – Is it possible that microbes cause Alzheimer’s?

Casey Lynch – Is it possible that microbes cause Alzheimer’s?

Casey Lynch

Arc Fusion Dinner

Casey Lynch talks about aging, specifically the aging of our brains, introducing an unorthodox but intriguing idea about what causes – and how to treat – some cases of Alzheimer’s Disease. She shares the story of Australian physician and Nobel laureate Barry Marshall, who swallowed H. pylori bacteria in 1982 to prove that this micro-bug causes ulcers – which was dismissed at the time, but is now accepted truth. Casey started her new company, Cortexyme, based on a similar finding by UCSF psychiatrist Steven Domini, who found what he believes to be a microbial link to Alzheimer’s. She shares a glimpse into the company’s research and search for antibiotics to treat this scourge of aging brains.

Casey Lynch

Casey Lynch

CEO, Cortexyme

Casey is the CEO of Cortexyme, a privately funded company focused on developing diagnostics and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders. As Founder and Managing Director of NeuroInsights, Casey co-authored the Neurotechnology Industry Report, published the industry newsletter Neurotech Insights, and provided strategic advisory services to commercial neuroscience companies and their investors. Casey is also a co-founder and Directors of The Neurotechnology Industry Organization, a trade association for commercial neuroscience.

Previously, Casey was the co-founder and CEO of Aspira Biosystems, a venture backed drug discovery platform-company, which was acquired by Nanomune Inc. in 2004. Prior to the four years building Aspira, Casey oversaw toxicology screening and evaluated new product opportunities at Centaur Pharmaceuticals. Casey conducted primate preclinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease treatment at the Wadsworth Medical Center in Los Angeles and researched the neurological basis of schizophrenia and epilepsy at UCLA. Her graduate work on neurotrophic factor cell biology and neurodegenerative diseases was carried out in the Mobley lab at UCSF/ Stanford University and was funded by the NSF and an Alzheimer’s Association Zenith Award.