NEWS CONFERENCE: EFFECTS OF COMBAT ON AGING VETERANS, WOMEN WARRIORS, FAMILIES

NEWS CONFERENCE: EFFECTS OF COMBAT ON AGING VETERANS, WOMEN WARRIORS, FAMILIES

University of California, San Francisco

Jennifer O'Brien, Interim Executive Director/News
Source:    Steve Tokar (415) 221-4810 x5202 or 722-3359 (cell)
E-mail:    steve.tokar@ncire.org
Web:    www.ncire.org, www.ucsf.edu

MEDIA ADVISORY
June 20, 2012

NEWS CONFERENCE:
-Prevention of Dementia In Aging Veterans
-Challenges Facing Women Warriors
-Effects of Multiple Deployments on Families and Communities

In association with The Brain at War conference on the neurocognitive consequences of combat, sponsored by NCIRE-The Veterans Health Research Institute

WHEN:
Thursday, June 21
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

WHERE:
Library, 11th Floor
Marines' Memorial Club and Hotel
609 Sutter St., San Francisco

WHAT: A news conference about:
-Growing evidence that post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury put older Veterans at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias

-The unique challenges facing the first generation of American women to directly participate in combat operations

-The long-terms effects of multiple deployments on military families and on communities


PARTICIPANTS:
Aging Veterans:
-General (Ret.) Peter W. Chiarelli, former US Army Vice Chief of Staff and CEO of One Mind for Research

-Michael Weiner, MD, Director, Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, San Francisco VA Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

-Kristine Yaffe, MD, geriatric psychiatrist, SFVAMC and UCSF


Women Warriors:
-Thomas Neylan, MD, Director, Stress and Health Research Program, SFVAMC and UCSF

-Aoife O'Donovan, PhD, Mental Health Researcher, SFVAMC and UCSF

-Captain Rebecca Murga, U.S. Army Reserve: Personal perspective on women serving in combat operations


Family and Community:
-Karen Kelly, Gold Star mother, advocate for military families, wife of Lieutenant -General John F. Kelly, USMC, Senior Military Advisor to the Secretary of Defense

-Sergeant Major (Ret.) Wayne Bell, USMC, former Sergeant Major of the 1st Marine Division, advocate for Veterans and military families

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About The Brain at War: The Brain at War is the leading national conference on the neurocognitive consequences of combat and their effects on service members and Veterans.

About NCIRE: The nonprofit research institute associated with the San Francisco VA Medical Center, NCIRE supports the largest biomedical research program in the VA system. Our mission: Advancing Veterans Health Through Research.-----------------------------------------------------------------------