National Institute on Aging awards $15 million to Stanford’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center – Stanford Medical Center Report

The National Institute on Aging has awarded a $15 million grant to the Stanford Alzheimers Disease Research Center. The award is a five-year renewal of a $7.3 million grant the institute provided to the center in 2015.

More than 50 faculty and staff led by director Victor Henderson, MD, professor of health research and policy and of neurology and neurological sciences, and associate director Katrin Andreasson, MD, professor of neurology and neurological sciences, conduct research on Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases and related disorders.

Stanfords Alzheimers center is one of about 30 such centers at major medical institutions across the United States that are funded by the National Institutes of Health and that translate research into improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and care for people with Alzheimers and similar cognitive disorders.

More than 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimers disease and as many as 1 million from Parkinsons disease, making these the two most common neurodegenerative disorders nationwide. The prevalence of both conditions is increasing rapidly.

Weve recruited and enrolled a group of over 400 dedicated volunteers with Alzheimers disease, mild cognitive impairment, Parkinsons disease and Lewy body dementia, as well as healthy older adults without cognitive or motor impairment, Henderson said. They have generously consented to in-person assessments, provided biological specimens for research, undergone brain scans and considered brain donation at the time of death.

In recent years, these research subjects have helped Tony Wyss-Coray, PhD, the D.H. Chen Professor in neurology and neurological sciences, and his colleagues identify immune cells in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid specifically associated with Alzheimers disease. They have also supported work by Greg Zaharchuk, MD, PhD, professor of radiology, and his colleagues aimed at detecting amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimers patients using much lower radiation doses than in the past.

The centers next two research projects will be led by Monther Abu-Remaileh, PhD, assistant professor of chemical engineering, and Heather Moss, MD, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology.

While the major source of funding for Stanfords Alzheimers center is the National Institutes of Health, it is also supported by the School of Medicine, Department of Neurology and Stanford Health Care.

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National Institute on Aging awards $15 million to Stanford's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center - Stanford Medical Center Report