Position: Professor

Major: Cognitive and behavioral neurology, dementia, medical humanity, neuro-psychology, hisotry, navigation, memory, education

Professor Ming-Chyi Pai (pair@mail.ncku.edu.tw)

Ming-Chyi Pai is professor of neurology and gerontology at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU). He heads Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) at NCKU Hospital and is a principal investigator of series of projects on spatial navigation ability of people with cognitive impairment, and many multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials involving patients with AD or related dementias.

Professor Pai was graduated from Taipei Medical University (M.D.) in 1988 (awarded the best intern) and obtained his Ph.D. degree (psychology) from National Chung Cheng Univ in 2002. Professor Pai studied neuropsychology with Professor Atsushi Yamadori at Tohoku Univ from 1995 to 1996 and studied cognitive psychology with Professors Lynn Nadel, W. Jake Jacobs and Alfred Kaszniak at the Univ of Arizona from 2002 to 2003. His major interests include cognitive and behavioral neurology, human spatial navigation, effects of education on neurodegenerative disorders, and biomarkers in people with the AD family history (ADFH). He published over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 20 chapters or books.

In 1993, Professor Pai initiated the first behavioral neurology/ dementia clinic in Taiwan. He chaired Department of Neurology, NCKU from 2009-2012 and has headed Division of Behavioral Neurology, NCKU Hospital since 1998. He has been leading ADRC at NCKU since her launch in 2011. As of Sep 2020, over 3500 people with AD, PDD/ DLB, FTLD, vascular dementia or related dementias have been registered to the center. The ADRC had been consecutively awarded the Symbol of National Quality (SNQ) in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Professor Pai has been the Director of the Institute of Gerontology at NCKU (term 2018.08 to 2024.07).

Professor Pai is the founding and current president of Zeelandia Dementia Association (ZDA, since 2004). Zeelandia is named after a fort built by the Netherlanders from 1624 to 1634. ZDA is the first locally established dementia association in Taiwan. Being an active dementia support group in Taiwan, ZDA interacts closely with hospitals, institutions, and nursing homes reciprocally in Tainan. Dr. Pai was elected as a member to steering committee of Taiwan Alzheimer Disease Association (2012-2015). He has been actively participating in the public and academic affairs of Asian Society against Dementia (2008- ) for 13 years. From 2017, Professor Pai is appointed as director of the Center for Integrated Dementia Care in Tainan City. Moreover, he leads Taiwan Clinical Trial Consortium for Dementia since 2018. Professor Pai is the President of Taiwan Dementia Society from 2015-2018.