Harvard University
Partner Since 2021
Toffler Scholar Program
Harvard is at the frontier of academic and intellectual discovery. Those who venture here—to learn, research, teach, work, and grow—join nearly four centuries of students and scholars in the pursuit of truth, knowledge, and a better world.
The Karen Toffler Charitable Trust has partnered with Harvard to implement the Toffler Scholar Program. Students are chosen to become Toffler Scholars for their innovative thinking, research excellence, and demonstrated passion for their work. Toffler Scholars then receive funding and network support to further their vital medical research.
“We are delighted to be partnering with the Karen Toffler Charitable Trust, and to be participating in the Toffler Scholar Program, in support of early stage investigators who are focused on curing Alzheimer’s disease. With this funding, we can challenge researchers to ask ‘what if…’ and explore scientific questions in novel and innovative ways, with the kind of flexibility that more traditional funding mechanisms do not allow. This important partnership will position our researchers for success in their careers and to advance scientific progress in our continuing quest to cure Alzheimer’s disease.”
― Bradley Hyman, MD, PhD
John P. Penny Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Director, Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Memory Disorders Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital
Toffler Scholars
2022
Dr. Sudeshna Das
Dr. Alberto Serrano-Pozo
2023
Dr. Calina Glynn
Dr. Ted Zwang
Toffler Scholar Spotlights
Dr. Sudeshna Das
Dr. Sudeshna Das earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2022 at Harvard. She is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She also directs the MGH Biomedical Informatics Core. Her current research focuses on developing and applying integrative computational methods in biomedical and brain research to understand and ultimately cure neurological disorders.
![[Harvard]Clinical-pathological correlations of dementia](https://tofflertrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/alberto-serrano-pozo@3x.png "Alberto Serrano-Pozo")
DR. SERRANO-POZO
Dr. Serrano-Pozo earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2022 at Harvard. He is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School. He is a board-certified neurologist and a neuroscientist with an interest in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. His research focuses on the clinical-pathological correlations of dementia, the role of reactive astrocytes and microglia in Alzheimer’s disease, and the mechanisms underlying the influence of APOE and other gene variants in Alzheimer’s disease risk.
Dr. Calina Glynn
Calina Glynn earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2023 at Harvard. She is a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital with Prof. Brad Hyman. She hopes her research will expand our fundamental understanding of how protein structure relates to function and disease.
Dr. Ted Zwang
Ted Zwang earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2023 at Harvard. He is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He is deploying neuron-like electronics in combination with virtual reality experiments to understand how cognitive dysfunction arises from aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
Impact
4 Toffler Scholar Awards
2 Year Partnership
$220,000 In Funding To-Date
Shape the Future by Funding a Toffler Scholar
If you’d like to join us in contributing to the efforts of early-stage researchers and scientists, please get in touch. Your involvement will help change humanity for the better.