neurons, and neurofibrillary tangles, which are deposits of tau proteins localized inside the neurons. Scientists have identified an excess of these plaques and tangles in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, but they have not yet determined why they develop in the first place. This is why further research is so important, and why Carol wanted to help fund it. From 2015 to 2018, the fund contributed $893,000 to innovative Alzheimer’s research in Pittsburgh. When Japanese researchers published a paper in February 2018 announcing development of a simple blood test to detect Alzheimer’s, Dr. Nathan Yates, a chemist at the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, wanted to replicate it. He met with Carol and her children about the study, and in May received $100,000 to jump-start the project. Yates says the money from the Massaro Fund enabled his lab to start testing patient samples six months after he proposed the study. “This could revolutionize the treatment and screening of Alzheimer’s disease,” Yates says. “Developing an inexpensive and accurate test for Alzheimer’s disease has been the Holy Grail of research.” He shared the early promising results with Carol. “She was always excited to know how things were going,” he says. “She was passionate about making a difference and generous enough to use her resources.” Fueled by a passion for the cause and blessed with an ebullient personality, Carol became a superstar fundraiser for Alzheimer’s research. “Carol could chat with anyone, and her story would encourage others to share their stories,” says Kelly Uranker, director of the Center for Philanthropy at The Pittsburgh Foundation. The Longest Table, a dinner party fund- raiser, drew 450 people its first year. “Carol was magnetic. She had this charismatic smile and this twinkle in her eye,” says Carol Kinkela, who owns Carabella, a women’s clothing store in Oakmont, and worked with Carol to organize the event three times. The Massaro family held other fundraisers as well. While Carol always ensured that the events were entertaining and engaging, friends and family say it was always front-of-mind with her that many of the attendees were escaping the havoc Alzheimer’s causes for their loved ones and for themselves as caregivers. In her own life dealing with the disease, Carol was fortunate to be able to have home health aides help her in tending to Joe at the couples’ residence in Oakland. “She had a tremendous amount of empathy for those who were the sole caregivers for their loved ones,” Uranker says. Last year, the fund awarded a $10,000 grant to the Alzheimer’s Caregiver Conference in the Pittsburgh region. Other Joseph A. Massaro Jr. Alzheimer’s Research Fund grants include $75,000 to support Dr. Edward Allen Burton’s research at the Pittsburgh Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases in the Department of Neurology at the University of Pittsburgh; $50,000 to fund research by Dr. Alberto Vasquez at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; $25,000 for Allegheny Health Network’s Neuroscience Institute’s memory disorder clinic; and $35,000 to Pittsburgh Lifesciences Greenhouse for a new piece of equipment aiding in cognition therapeutics research. For all her philanthropy, Carol was most passionate about helping to find a cause for Alzheimer’s. As her daughter Linda says, “We learned that every family has a story to tell about the devastation it leaves behind. We need to find the cause and cure.” by Cristina Rouvalis Joe and Carol Massaro at home in 2010 Drs. William E. Klunk, left, and Oscar L. Lopez , who is also a professor of neurology, direct the Alzheimer Disease Research Center at UPMC. S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 1 5