Galvin is a professor of clinical biomedical science in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and a professor in the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. He also serves as the associate dean for clinical research in the Schmidt College of Medicine and medical director of the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center at FAU.
Prior to joining FAU, Galvin held concurrent positions at New York University, including professor of neurology and psychiatry and professor of population health at the NYU Langone School of Medicine; professor of nutrition and public health at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development; and professor of nursing at the NYU College of Nursing.
Galvin is one of the leading international experts on “Lewy Body disease” (LBD) where patients simultaneously experience losses in cognitive function, mobility and behavior. LBD is the second-most-common degenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. LBD affects more than 1.3 million Americans, but is poorly recognized and diagnosis is often significantly delayed. Former celebrity Robin Williams also had this form of dementia, which can cause visual hallucinations and make depression worse. Galvin has been working to improve clinical detections by combining biomarkers including high density EEG, functional and structural MRI, PET scans and CSF biomarkers to characterize and differentiate LBD from healthy aging and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Galvin has led efforts to develop a number of dementia screening tools, including the AD8, a brief informant interview to translate research findings to community settings. He has done cross-cultural validation of dementia screening methods in comparison with Gold Standard clinical evaluations and biomarker assays. His team also has developed sophisticated statistical models to explore transition points in clinical, cognitive, functional, behavioral and biological markers of disease in healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
“These can be devastating diseases,” Galvin said. “We’re working on how to detect the diseases as early as possible, make the most accurate diagnoses, and initiate treatment at first sign of detection. That’s how we can do the most for people suffering from these diseases.”
Galvin also has generated millions of dollars in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alzheimer Association, Michael J. Fox Foundation, local and state Departments of Health, and private foundations.
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About Florida Atlantic University:Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
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