WELCOME: GLOBAL BHP BRAINTRUST
A Message from Andrea Pfeifer, Chair of the Global BHP BrainTrust

As forecast, 2024 showcased a promising inflection point across the brain health landscape. Research milestones marked the year, including the European Medicines Agency’s approval of Leqembi for early Alzheimer’s disease. These developments were coupled with a plethora of early diagnostic candidates ranging from blood-based biomarkers to accessible, scalable voice activation models, and AI-driven retinal imaging for early detection of Alzheimer’s through a simple eye exam.
 
Adding to the growing momentum in brain health, the Global BHP BrainTrust, in collaboration with the FINGERS Brain Health Institute, the coordinating hub for prevention research in 68 countries led by Prof. Miia Kivipelto, co-launched FINGERS Plus for Women, focusing on the brain to gut connection, introducing a probiotic as intervention, donated by Probi AB.
 
The Global BHP BrainTrust’s participation at the Lausanne XI Workshop with our panel “Igniting The Future of Women’s Health: A Global Wake-up Call”, promoted further steps toward investment advocacy, research evaluations and data clarifications for gender disparities. It also reinforced the necessity of investment shifts towards brain capital as set forth in a World Economic /McKinsey Health Report that closing the women’s health gap could add $1trillon (US) to the global economy by 2040.

With optimism and hope, my Vice-Chair Mara Hank Moret and I are proud to expand our efforts in 2025, grateful for the support of our founding and new global members and collaborative initiatives in development with the FINGERS Brain Health Institute, Women In Science, Lausanne XII, WHAM, and UsA2 Women’s Leadership Council. Follow us through our BrainWire newsletters with updates to further drive our commitment to brain health awareness and advocacy.

We wish you a healthy, peaceful Christmas time and an exciting beginning to 2025!