$1.5M Gift from Steele Foundation Launches Fellowship in Barrow Alzheimer’s and Memory Program

Barrow Neurological Foundation is proud to announce that the Steele Foundation has endowed the Dan Cracchiolo and Pam Grant Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry Fellowship in the Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders Program at Barrow Neurological Institute. The generous $1.5 million endowment was made through the Barrow Grand Ball, the Women’s Board of Barrow Neurological Foundation’s annual gala, which reached a lifetime milestone of $100 million raised since the 1965 inaugural Ball. Pam Grant is a longtime member of the Women’s Board. The Steele Foundation has an extensive history of supporting education at Barrow, including establishing the Horace W. Steele Chair in Neurosurgical Innovation and Education in 1997.

“The Steele Foundation is thrilled to partner with Dr. Anna Burke, Barrow Neurological Institute, and the Women’s Board of Barrow Neurological Foundation to establish this fellowship in honor of my late father, Daniel Cracchiolo, and his incredible wife, Pam Grant. Since the early ‘90s, Steele and Barrow have partnered to recruit physicians from across the world to Phoenix. This fellowship will capitalize on Barrow’s achievements in dementia care and research, inspiring new doctors joining the field of dementia-related diseases to serve patients in desperate need,” said Marianne Cracchiolo Mago, President and CEO of the Steele Foundation.

Alzheimer’s disease is a rapidly growing public health crisis in the United States. More than six million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s. By 2050, that number is expected to rise to nearly 13 million. Deaths from Alzheimer’s have increased 145% since 2000, and the disease now kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

“The current population of dementia specialists in the United States is able to support only about 10% of the care needed for the growing population of patients and families struggling with dementia. We are grateful to the Steele Foundation for their support. The generous legacy will ensure that those affected by these devastating disorders will have world-class care and support and allow Barrow to develop physician-researchers dedicated to eradicating this disease,” said Anna D. Burke, MD, Karsten Solheim Dementia Research Chair and Director of the Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders Program at Barrow Neurological Institute.

The Dan Cracchiolo and Pam Grant Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry Fellowship aims to graduate fellows who have the clinical skills to care for individuals with dementia and other cognitive disorders, as well as help Barrow become a leader in research into the risks, predictors, prevention, diagnostic tests, and potential treatments for Alzheimer’s and related dementias. The one-year fellowship is directed by Barrow neuropsychiatrist and behavioral neurologist Yonas E. Geda, MD, and provides fellows with the opportunity to work in clinics with both behavioral neurologists and neuropsychiatrists, as well as participate in research training.

“The Steele Foundation’s continued support of medical education ensures that Barrow can continue its mission of saving lives by training the next generation of the world’s leading neuroscience experts,” said Katie Cobb, President of Barrow Neurological Foundation.  “Because of the Steele Foundation’s generosity in endowing the Dan Cracchiolo and Pam Grant Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry Fellowship, Barrow has the opportunity to train the best and brightest Alzheimer’s specialists who are dedicated to finding a cure for this devastating disease.”