McCance Center for Brain Health

Overview

At the McCance Center, we are working to End Alzheimer’s through:

• Early Prediction based on family history and genetics
• Early Detection of accumulating pathology prior to organ damage and onset of clinical symptoms
• Early Intervention to slow or stop the disease process.

Changing the Brain Care Paradigm

More than 3 out of 5 American adults will be affected by brain disease in their lifetime. Yet, few treatments can stop a brain disorder once it takes hold. Unlike heart disease, osteoporosis, or diabetes, our health care system treats brain disease reactively rather than proactively. Changing this paradigm is the core of our mission.
Imagine a world where brain health is part of healthcare from the first prenatal visit, where schools use standardized tools for brain health education and assessment, and where a visit to the doctor’s office not only includes a brain check-up but can also lead to preventive treatments for those who are found to be at risk for brain disease. Imagine how lives would be saved, enhanced, and extended. This is what we see, and what we’re passionately working to achieve.

Our Mission

Our mission is to promote healthy brain aging and prevent neurodegenerative disease through innovative research.

Our Vision

We envision brain care as part of standard healthcare, improving quality of life, and reducing the global impact of brain disease.

Our Work

We are a clinical research center discovering new ways to monitor and preserve brain health, promote mental vitality, and reduce risk for brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, as we age.

McCance Center Newsletter

Our Center publishes a quarterly newsletter with the latest updates on our research, news and events. Read the latest issue here.

Connect with us on LinkedIn

McCance Center Seminar Series

The McCance Center for Brain Health Seminar Series meets twice a month from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, typically on Mondays with occasional Friday sessions. The series brings together upwards of 60 faculty members and their research teams to discuss the development of brain health indicators and interventions. The series is held virtually via Zoom.

The 2025-2026 academic year series is focused on the following key themes:

• Genetics of brain aging, neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders
• Clinical trial methods and design
• Lifestyle approaches to brain health (including nutrition, metabolic, and mind-body)
• Hormesis
• Other emerging topics of interest identified by McCance Center leadership

This vibrant community of clinicians and scientists from across Mass General and its partner institutions is embracing radically new approaches to preventing brain disease and promoting brain health across the lifespan. The series often welcomes external speakers who also conduct transformational work in this field.

Beginning September 2025, we will offer Continuing Education credit for physicians and nurses.

• Course Director: Rudolph Tanzi, PhD
• Faculty: Gene Bowman, ND, MPH; Greg Fricchione, MD; Katherine Rosa, CNP, PhD, and Marie Borgella, RN, DNP, FNAP
• Course Coordinator: Elizabeth Fonseca, SM

To be added to the distribution list, contact MGH McCance Center for Brain Health at mghmccancecenterforbrainhealth@mgb.org

Accreditation

In support of improving patient care, Mass General Brigham is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Credit Designation Statements
AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

Mass General Brigham designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nursing

Mass General Brigham designates this activity for 1 ANCC contact hour. Nurses should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Gregory Fricchione, MD
Co-Founder & Co-Director

Gene Bowman, ND, MPH
Clinical Trials Director

Elizabeth Fonseca, SM
Administrative Director

Publications

Learn about the science behind brain health in these news articles and journal features.

2026

• Matching heterogeneous cohorts by projected principal components reveals two novel Alzheimer's disease-associated genes in the Hispanic population
  2/27/2026: New paper describes the identification of two new Alzheimer’s disease genes in the Hispanic population.
• RIN3 mutations impairing binding of the Alzheimer’s disease–associated protein BIN1 lead to RAB5 hyperactivation and endosomal pathology
  1/28/2026: New paper on discovery of two familial Alzheimer’s disease mutations in the RIN3 gene that drive neuronal cell pathology as part of the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s disease.
• 6 daily habits to slow aging, from a Harvard brain expert
  1/21/2026: McCance Center Director, Dr. Rudy Tanzi, shares his "SHIELD" plan for brain health in this Washington Post piece.
• Machine Learning-Enhanced Hyperspectral Raman Imaging for Label-Free Molecular Atlas of Alzheimer's Brain
  1/14/2026: New paper with our colleagues at Rice University on the use of machine learning to map Alzheimer’s disease.
• Highly sensitive chemiluminescence imaging of misfolded proteins in neurodegenerative models - PubMed
  1/9/2026: New study by McCance-affiliated researchers in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

Open Positions

Watch this space for updates. All applicants should register with the Mass General Careers website.