Basketball Fundraiser Supports Alzheimer’s Disease Research

On March 13, the Schlotman family of Munster, Indiana, and staff from Munster High School presented a check for $11,000 to the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The generous funding was raised during a charity basketball game at the high school organized by Michael Schlotman in December.

The gift will support Borna Bonakdarpour, MD, assistant professor in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, and his research at the Mesulam Center. Dr. Bonakdarpour studies the underlying mechanisms of language impairment (aphasia) using neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, in hopes of contributing to better therapies for aphasia and dementias like Alzheimer’s disease.

Michael arranged the fundraiser at his alma mater in honor of his grandfather, Richard, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a decade ago. Family members Chris, Joan, Diana, and Kevin Schlotman, along with Kathleen LaPorte, a teacher at Munster High School, and Ira Zimmer, the school’s athletic director, presented the check. Diana, Michael’s grandmother and Richard’s wife, works as a nurse at Northwestern Medicine.

Make a gift to support the Mesulam Center. 

For more information about supporting the Mesulam Center, please contact Jordan Sund at jordan.sund@northwestern.edu or 312-503-2706.