A jubilant crowd of family, friends, and colleagues gathered in the Maurice J. Stone, MD, Commons of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine (Katz) on the evening of October 15, 2026, to celebrate the investiture of Silvia Fossati, PhD, the Scott Richards North Star Foundation and Stop Alzheimer’s Now Chair for Alzheimer’s Research.
“Endowed Chairs are among the highest honor a university can bestow,” said Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS, The Marjorie Joy Katz Dean, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, during the ceremony. “They are enduring tributes that recognize excellence while sustaining faculty scholarship, discovery, and leadership to advance our mission. The impact of an Endowed Chair extends far beyond the individual who holds it, strengthening our school and improving the health of the patients and communities we serve.”
Dr. Fossati earned her PhD in Neuropharmacology in Italy at the University of Florence before coming to the United States, where she trained as a postdoctoral researcher at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She later served as an Assistant Professor at NYU in the departments of Neurology and Psychiatry before joining the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple University as an Associate Professor in 2019. Today, she serves as the center’s director and Professor of Neural Sciences.
Her impact as a researcher and a mentor over the past 20 years has been profound, as cited by many of the evening’s featured speakers. In the lab, Dr. Fossati and her team have made landmark discoveries that have advanced the understanding and treatment of Alzheimer disease and vascular contributions to dementias, including the revelation that certain FDA-approved drugs (like acetazolamide) can protect brain cells from damage caused by Alzheimer’s-related proteins. This led to a recently awarded Part the Cloud Grant by the Alzheimer’s Association for a clinical trial in collaboration with Temple’s Department of Neurology.
Determined to aid Alzheimer’s patients
“If you ask Dr. Fossati about her overall goals in pursuing research, you will receive an answer that is both simple and profound,” said Temple University President John Fry. “She wants to do something tangible for Alzheimer’s patients. That is the driving force behind her work, and that is her motivation.”
Opening with a quip about the irony of a chair being bestowed upon someone who rarely sits still, Ellen Unterwald, PhD, Chair and Professor, Department of Neural Sciences at the Katz School, and Professor of the Center for Substance Abuse Research, spoke to Dr. Fossati’s research approach.
“Silvia's accomplishments are truly impressive,” she said. “What makes them especially worth celebrating is the way she has achieved them with creativity, with rigor, and with a commitment to helping others succeed.
“Today we celebrate more than just a distinguished record,” Dr. Unterwald added. “We celebrate a scientist who connects discovery with possibility, ambition with generosity, and leadership with compassion.”
Reflecting on Temple University founder Russell Conwell’s foundational Acres of Diamonds speech, Heather Snyder, PhD, Senior Vice President of Medical & Scientific Relations, Alzheimer’s Association, said, “I think what we've heard here in just the comments but also my own personal and professional knowledge of Dr. Fossati is we have a diamond here with us and we're seeing that work continue to go forward … Dr. Fossati is representative of the best of the best here at Temple, I would tell you, from somebody who sits in a seat that sees international research, Dr. Fossati is ... some of the best of the best internationally, as well.”
“We won the lottery with Dr. Fossati,” echoed Phillip Richards CLU, RHU, Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, Temple University; Executive Chairman and Founder, North Star Resource group; and Chairman, Scott Richards North Star Charitable Foundation. “We are so honored to be able to share this gift … you're going to see a lot happen at Temple University in Alzheimer's research going forward.”
Impacting the Next Generation
Dr. Goldberg shared how Dr. Fossati will play an integral role in the University’s strategic plan, which includes strengthening its research and collaboration across the school.
“With her steady passion for improving patients' lives, Dr. Fossati spearheads a team making breakthroughs in our understanding of Alzheimer's, brain aging, and neurodegenerative processes,” she said. “But she is also deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists, helping emerging researchers find their footing, develop their talents, and build careers of their own.”
Mentoring the next generation of scientists is central to Dr. Fossati’s mission. Over her career, she has personally trained more than 45 graduate students, undergraduates, and postdoctoral fellows. Many of these have won prestigious national awards, postdoctoral fellowships, career development awards, NIH R01 grants, and Toffler Fellowships.
Dr. Fossati has earned both the Dawn Marks Faculty Award for Teaching and the Educational Excellence Award in Research Mentoring at the Katz School.
“This is a person who believes so deeply that her knowledge should be passed down so others can reap the benefits of her work,” Fry said. “And both our Temple and our Katz School of Medicine communities are stronger because of this.”
When Dr. Fossati finally took the stage, she was visibly grateful. She thanked her parents; partner Stanley; Temple lab members, administrators, collaborators, and leadership; agency collaborators; and funders, before offering her thoughts on the honor.
“I take this Endowed Chair as both a gift and a responsibility; the responsibility to do something good, to understand better what causes Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, to find better cures, and to help patients. And I promise I will do that with integrity, passion, compassion, and kindness.”
Perhaps one of the most poignant statements of the evening came from Shaun McDuffee, AEP, CLU, ChFC, CEPA, Founder and President, Stop Alzheimer’s Now, who said, “Silvia’s going to make a difference. She will make an impact. And honestly, if I had to bet, there's a cure. And [pointing to Dr. Fossati] it's sitting right there.”