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

The Stanford-based center’s affiliated faculty and staff, aided by more than 400 volunteers, conduct research on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and related disorders.

- By Bruce Goldman

Victor Henderson

The National Institute on Aging has awarded a $15 million grant to the Stanford Alzheimer’s 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 Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and related disorders.

Stanford’s Alzheimer’s 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 Alzheimer’s and similar cognitive disorders.

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

“We’ve recruited and enrolled a group of over 400 dedicated volunteers with Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson’s 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 Alzheimer’s 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 Alzheimer’s patients using much lower radiation doses than in the past.

The center’s 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 Stanford’s Alzheimer’s center is the National Institutes of Health, it is also supported by the School of Medicine, Department of Neurology and Stanford Health Care.

About Stanford Medicine

Stanford Medicine is an integrated academic health system comprising the Stanford School of Medicine and adult and pediatric health care delivery systems. Together, they harness the full potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education and clinical care for patients. For more information, please visit med.stanford.edu.

2023 ISSUE 3

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