About IDRF
“Remembering Not to Forget”

The International Dementia Research Foundation (IDRF) is a non-profit organization founded by Dr. Stephanie R. Johnson in March of 2005 in an effort to address Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in women and ethnic minorities.  It is IDRF’s goal to advocate on behalf of women and ethnic minorities, which are the two groups disproportionately affected by various forms of dementia (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, Vascular dementia)

Mission Statement: The International Dementia Research Foundation (IDRF) seeks to support and encourage the development of culturally sensitive diagnostic and treatment methodologies to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Programmatic Activities: 

Educational Awareness:  IDRF provides culturally relevant information on dementia through seminars, health fairs, and workshops geared towards families, caregivers and medical professionals.  Our educational awareness program is meant to encourage and empower individuals increase knowledge and understanding of dementia and how it affects underrepresented populations.

Clinical Research Program:  This program provides funding for clinical research in dementia that specifically focuses on the inclusion of ethnic minorities and women.
This is a core programmatic activity that we hope will progress our knowledge an understanding of the epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Grants and Fellowship Program:  The goal of this program is to provide grants and fellowships to encourage women and ethnic minorities to pursue careers in aging research.  The grants and fellowships will be provided thru collaborative relationships between IDRF and various graduate and medical institutions.

What is Dementia?

Dementia is a syndrome that is made up of various symptoms including memory loss, changes in behavior and other impairments in cognition that negatively impacts activities of daily living.  There are various forms of dementia including Alzheimer’s disease which is the most common form of dementia.  Other dementias include vascular dementia, Parkinson’s disease with dementia, Huntington’s disease, Frontal-Temporal dementia, Lewy-Body disease and primary progressive aphasia.  Minority populations are at increased risk of developing certain forms of dementia to due increased prevalence of vascular illnesses including diabetes and hypertension.