Saint Helena Virtual Forum

Our Ageing Brain and Body

Unraveling mechanisms of longevity, resilience,

and neurodegenerative disease.

Dr. Dena Dubal in conversation with Journalist David Freed

Stream at Live Forum or on YouTube October 1, 2025

Dr. Dena Dubal, MD, PhD, is Professor of Neurology at UCSF and holds the David A. Coulter Endowed Chair in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease. She earned her MD and PhD from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and completed her medical internship, neurology residency, and chief residency at UCSF. Her laboratory investigates the molecular mechanisms of longevity, resilience, and neurodegenerative disease, asking how aging pathways can confer resilience to the brain and counter conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Her team discovered that klotho, a longevity hormone named for a Greek fate, enhances cognition and protects against neurodegenerative decline in animal models, even when administered peripherally without crossing the blood-brain barrier. She also uncovered novel roles for the X chromosome in brain resilience, showing that a second X chromosome confers neural protection in aging and disease. Her work integrates genetic mouse models, cell culture, and studies of human populations, and has been published in leading journals such as Nature and Cell. She is the recipient of the Paul Beeson, Glenn, and Grass Awards.

David Freed is a former adjunct professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Communications at Colorado State University, He holds a master's degree in extension studies from Harvard University and also teaches creative writing as an instructor at Harvard Extension School.

Beginning in 1990, while writing for the Los Angeles Times, David wrote a series of articles that highlighted flaws in Los Angeles County's criminal justice system, including overcrowded county jails and poor enforcement of lesser crimes.This series made Freed a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Freed also shared the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Reporting with fellow staff writers at the newspaper for reportage on the Rodney King riots in 1992.

Freed has also written mystery-thriller novels centered on a protagonist named Cordell Logan, as well a several screenplays for Hollywood. David has done a number of interviews for the Forum and he is also a licensed and avid pilot.

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Saint Helena Virtual Forum

Stream at Live Forum or on YouTube October 1, 2025

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THE SAINT HELENA FORUM FOR INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY, a 501(c)3 educational non-profit, is produced entirely by volunteers drawn from a cross section of Napa Valley residents.