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Dr. Heather Snyder is the vice president of Medical and Scientific Relations at the Alzheimer's Association. In this role, she oversees Association initiatives that accelerate innovative Alzheimer's research and provide opportunities for the global dementia community to connect and collaborate. She leads the Association's International Research Grant Program, the vehicle through which the Association funds promising investigations that advance understanding of Alzheimer's and moves the field toward solutions for the global Alzheimer's crisis. As the world's largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer's research, the Association is currently investing over $235 million in more than 650 active best-of-field projects in 39 countries. To increase knowledge about prevention and risk reduction, Dr. Snyder serves on the executive team for the U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (U.S. POINTER). An expert in the field, Dr. Snyder has been featured in numerous TV interviews and print and online news articles, including "The Dr. Oz Show," The New York Times, The Washington Post, Crain's Chicago Business "40 under 40" and The Wall Street Journal. She holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and a bachelor's degree in biology and religious studies from the University of Virginia.