A Voice for Alzheimer’s Research

“Thanks to work being done at the UW School of Medicine, there is reason for hope,” says Matt Lepay, with wife Linda. Courtesy of Matt Lepay

Linda and Matt Lepay, the radio voice for Badgers men’s football and basketball, know all too well the devastation of Alzheimer’s disease. In 2012, Matt’s mother, Lee, was diagnosed, and after a five-year battle, she succumbed in July 2017.

This personal loss offered Lepay a reason to lend his voice, and his platform, to promote the essential research being done at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Passionate members of the board of visitors for the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s, Matt and Linda are focused on spreading the word about the ongoing search for a cure and the emotional and financial impact this disease has on families.

“We didn’t have to go very far to find other people going through the same thing,” says Lepay. “Alzheimer’s disease takes an enormous toll on families, but thanks to work being done at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, there is reason for hope.”

The UW aims to be one of the world’s leading universities for the study of Alzheimer’s, with assistance from the Wisconsin Medicine campaign, announced in May. The campaign is raising funds for UW Health and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, with the goal of supporting patient care, research, education, and health equity.

“Buzzer beaters are great,” says Lepay. “Last-second touchdowns, walk-off home runs. This would top all of that. I’ll say when, not if. When they can come up with an answer [for Alzheimer’s disease], that will be the greatest victory of all.”

To learn more about the campaign, visit wiscmedicine.org.

Published in the Summer 2022 issue