| This memorial fund has
been established to honor the memory and scientific contributions of
Dr. James “Jim” Joseph to aging research. Through a
career spanning over 30 years, Jim was a pioneer researcher in the
neurobiology of aging and nutritional neuroscience. He served in a
variety of posts at the National Institute on Aging, the Armed Forces
Radiobiological Laboratory, the USDA, and also in the pharmaceutical
industry at American Cynamid. Jim made seminal findings in several
areas including (1) relating age-related changes in dopaminergic and
cholinergic systems to motor dysfunction; (2) also linking these
changes to alterations in neuronal membrane composition; (3) identifying potential detrimental effects of heavy particles on motor and cognitive function that might affect the deep space travel of astronauts;
and (4) most
notably, describing beneficial effects on brain aging and behavioral
function of diets enriched in fruits and vegetables with high
antioxidant activity. Discovered while serving as the Chief of the
Neuroscience Laboratory of the USDA/Tufts University Human Nutrition
Research Center on Aging, the latter finding was the focus of Jim’s
career over the last decade which stimulated major growth in research
on botanicals and brain aging.
In addition to his scientific
achievements, Jim served the American Aging Association in several
capacities, including many years on our Board of Directors, the
Editorial Board of our Journal, and as President in 2002-2003. A
major feature of our annual meeting for many years was a lecture from
Jim or a symposium that he organized which presented the latest
findings on nutritional modulation of brain aging.
The James Joseph
Memorial Fund will be used to support presentations at our annual
meetings that will feature current research on this topic
and will bear Jim’s name on the program and in a
certificate/award. It is the
objective of this fund to keep moving the field of nutritional
neuroscience forward in a manner that Jim would be proud to support.
All contributions are tax deductible.
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