Chemistry professor Siyaram Pandey and students accept a contribution from three generations of Omkarnath Dhar’s family to further research into Alzheimer’s disease.
A Windsor family was so inspired by an Alzheimer’s disease research project, they donated $30,000 to a UWindsor lab.
In memory of Omkarnath Dhar, who lost his battle to Alzheimer’s disease in 2013, the Dhar family attended the Alzheimer’s Society of Windsor and Essex Research Day in April 2024. There they saw chemistry and biochemistry’s Siyaram Pandey give a talk about his Alzheimer’s disease research.
This talk spurred the family to donate. Dhar’s wife, Raj Dulari Dhar, says she just wants to help people. Her son, Anil Dhar, adds that the family wanted to support Dr. Pandey.
“We wanted to find some meaningful way to honour my father, and I think this is a great project — it is so promising,” says Anil Dhar.
The research project explores feeding mice natural extracts to slow down the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Based in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, it also involved Pandey’s long-time collaborator, psychology professor Jerome Cohen, who passed away in the spring. Dr. Cohen observed the behaviour of the mice.
“We were finding out if our treatment can halt the progression of the disease,” says Pandey.
Pandey held a memorial for Omkarnath Dhar on Aug. 30. Three generations of Dhar family members gathered on campus for a cheque presentation and lab tour.
“This is very heart-touching generosity to have the family donate funds to support our doctoral student as well our research project,” says Pandey.