This spring, the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), through
support of its donors and its partnership with the National Institute on
Aging, awarded a combined $15 million to more than 200 early-career
scientists, mid-career scientists and medical students through its series
of grant programs. This helped AFAR achieve an impressive milestone of
surpassing $100 million in grants awarded in its 26-year grant-making
history. More than 2,400 researchers have been recipients of
AFAR-supported grant awards, many of whom have gone on to distinguish
themselves as leaders in the field of aging research, chairing departments
and running laboratories at major academic institutions. Many of the
nation’s leaders in biogerontology have been beneficiaries of AFAR’s
programs.
“We have helped so many scientists launch careers in aging research and
just as important, AFAR has evolved to help sustain careers of innovative
scientists at their mid-career point so that valuable work can progress,”
said Roger McCarter, PhD, Chair of AFAR’s Research Committee who is also
Professor of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State University. “At a time of
limited funding sources for research on aging, we rely on the generosity
of our donors – the foundations, corporations and individuals – who help
ensure that promising research is recognized and supported,” he added.
Two spin-offs to the longstanding Beeson Program expanded the program
to Ireland and awarded grants to teams of Beeson Scholars to encourage
multidisciplinary collaborations and explore new models of
interdisciplinary research.
Two new additions to the AFAR Research Grant program launched in
partnership with the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation and the
Fannie E. Rippel Foundation provided key funding for early-career
researchers conducting research into the prevention, diagnosis and
treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and gender differences in aging
respectively.
“From telomeres to stem cell research to the search for longevity genes
to understanding the aging brain, research on aging has yielded
substantial breakthroughs, helping to identify rates of aging in species
and the susceptibility of disease, improving healthspan as well as
lifespan,” said Stephanie Lederman, Executive Director, American
Federation for Aging Research. “The recipients of our grant awards, on
every level, are delving into how and why we age and its impact on disease
incidence and progression.”
Read about AFAR's 2007
Research Grant recipients
Read about the 2007 AFAR Grant
Programs
Some
highlights:
The
Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation and the American Federation for
Aging Research Create New Investigator Award to Study the Biological,
Genetics and Environmental Factors Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease
By 2050, more than 106 million people worldwide are forecasted to have
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), including 16 million Americans if no preventive
treatments become available. To address the need for more research into
the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s, six early-career
scientists were awarded the first Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert
Foundation/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Alzheimer’s Disease. The
$60,000 award provides funding for a broad array of research that
investigates the causes and progression of Alzheimer’s, including the
basic mechanisms of aging, genetics, biomarkers, inflammation and the
impact of exercise and the environment.
Award recipients include:
Yaniv Assaf,
Ph.D., Lecturer, Tel Aviv University: Hippocampus characterization
of mice over-expressing APP and APOE3/4 using multi-dimensional MRI
Dr. Assaf will study the role that the biochemical substances APP a
precursor protein to amyloid-ß, the gene apoE4, and environmental factors
play in brain plasticity, degeneration and cognitive decline using a novel
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methodology called virtual-dot-com that
allows for a greater sensitivity and specificity of the brain than
conventional MRI.
Olivier Boutaud, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt
University Medical Center: Quantification of the relative abundance of
secreted APP alpha and beta as a biomarker of Alzheimer's disease
New therapies for AD are hindered by the lack of reliable biomarkers
which could track the clinical progression of the disease. Dr. Boutaud’s
research seeks to quantify whether levels of secreted APP alpha and beta
could serve as an effective biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease. This
biomarker could potentially be used as a prognostic tool to track the
progression of the disease as well as monitor the biological effects of
new therapeutic agents.
Chad Antony Dickey, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University
of South Florida: The Role of Re-folding Chaperones in Tau
Aggregation
The goal of Dr. Dickey’s research is to identify ways
in which specific proteins accumulate in the brain and identify new drug
targets for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The study will focus on
the removal of the accumulated proteins by manipulating a class of
proteins called molecular chaperones. These chaperones help in the
processing of proteins within neurons and may represent an entirely novel
class of candidates for therapeutic development in Alzheimer’s research.
Isabella A. Graef, M.D., Assistant Professor, Stanford
University: Harnessing endogenous proteins to prevent and clear
pathogenic protein aggregates in Alzheimer's disease
Dr. Graef’s
research focuses on the creation of a molecule that is able to attach
itself to a chaperone, an abundant cellular protein that helps other
proteins to fold properly. These new compounds can tether bulky chaperones
to the beta-amyloid fragments and prevent them from forming large clumps.
As a result, these molecules are effective at reducing protein clumping at
concentrations 100 times lower than other blocking agents that have been
tested. Through her research grant, she hopes to further develop this
approach, contributing to the development of therapeutic agents that could
prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's.
Indu
Kheterpal, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pennington Biomedical Research
Center: Development of a Mass Spectrometic Screening Assay to
Characterize Modifiers of A-beta Amyloid Aggregation in Alzheimer's
disease
Dr. Kheterpal’s research focuses on developing experimental
tools to test and identify small molecules that slow, prevent and/or
reverse protein accumulation in AD. These new techniques may also be
broadly applicable to more than 25 diseases that have been shown to be
associated with protein misfolding and aggregation, including Parkinson’s
disease and type II diabetes.
Grace Stutzmann, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Rosalind
Franklin University: Contributions of early calcium signaling
dysregulations to Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis
Dr. Stutzmann’s
research focuses on early neuronal signaling alterations that occur prior
to the onset of beta amyloid plaques and tangles, and impairments in
memory function. Specifically, she will try to determine the role of early
calcium signaling defects in AD, and, to determine if normalizing this
calcium defect can reduce the later symptoms of the disease.
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation (www.thegilbertfoundation.org)
invests in programs in the areas of College Access, Healthcare and Israel.
In addition, The Foundation funds Arts Education & Culture in Los
Angeles, Jewish Programs in Los Angeles, and Universities in California.
In the area of Alzheimer’s disease, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert
Foundation focuses its grantmaking on the advancement of research by
junior investigators in the United States and Israel and investments in
Alzheimer’s disease caregiving.
» Read More
_____________________________________________
Beeson
Award Goes Global: Largest Prize in Academic Geriatrics Awarded to
Researchers in Ireland and Northern Ireland
The American Federation for
Aging Research and The Atlantic Philanthropies are pleased to announce the
first recipients of the Paul Beeson Career Development Awards in Aging
Research, part of the program’s extension to the Republic of Ireland and
Northern Ireland. The program, an expansion of the American model, seeks
to create a cadre of leading physician-scientists throughout the Island of
Ireland who are committed to academic careers in aging research, teaching,
and practice.
Bernadette McGuinness, M.D., MRCP, Research Fellow/Specialist
Registrar, Queen’s University of Belfast, and Patricia Kearney, MB BCh
BAO, Ph.D., Clinical Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, are
the first recipients of the Beeson Award in Ireland, and will both receive
$450,000 over a three-year period to conduct their research. Dr.
McGuinness’s research, Platelet ß-secretase in Mild Cognitive Impairment,
will focus on understanding the role ß-secretase plays in the onset of
Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Kearney’s research, Biopsychosocial Factors and
Vascular Disease in an Ageing Cohort of Irish Adults will seek to study
cardiovascular disease risk and the psychosocial factors affecting
cardiovascular disease in participants enrolled in a 10-year study of
adults over age 50.
» Read More
About The Atlantic Philanthropies
The Atlantic
Philanthropies are dedicated to bringing about lasting changes in the
lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people. Atlantic focuses on critical
social problems related to ageing, disadvantaged children & youth,
population health, and reconciliation & human rights. Programmes
funded by Atlantic operate in Australia, Bermuda, Northern Ireland, the
Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United States and Viet Nam. The
organisation's self-imposed expiration date for completing active
grantmaking by 2016 has been established in keeping with the high-impact
“giving while living” philosophy of its founder, Charles F. Feeney. Since
its inception in 1982, Atlantic has made more than 4,320 grants totaling
more than $4 billion.
To learn more, please visit www.atlanticphilanthropies.org.
_____________________________________________
American
Federation for Aging Research and the John A. Hartford Foundation Award
Collaborative Research Grants to Multi-Center Research Teams
New
Program Advances Scientific Collaborations in Aging Research
Five
research teams will receive $400,000 each to collaborate on translational
and multi-disciplinary research on aging as the first recipients of the
Hartford/AFAR Collaborative Research Awards, an extension of the Paul B.
Beeson Career Development Scholars Program.
Expanding on the successful Beeson program which supports
physician-scientists engaged in geriatric medicine and aging research, the
Hartford/AFAR Collaborative Award supports Beeson Scholars who already
have a proven track record in aging research, by fostering collaborations
with their Beeson colleagues.
As the number of older adults in the United States continue to grow,
there is a greater need to not only provide high-quality medical and
supportive care but also to develop new scientific knowledge about the
aging process and age-related diseases and disorders. Advances in
understanding aging processes at all levels, from disease mechanisms to
issues in clinical management to systems of care, require novel approaches
and greater interaction within the numerous disciplines contributing to
the field. The Hartford Collaborative Award seeks to accelerate
collaborations among researchers to move beyond the confines of their own
discipline and explore new models of interdisciplinary research.
The Hartford/AFAR Collaborative Research Award Recipients:
|
Wes Ely, MD
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine |
Helen Hoenig, MD
Duke University Medical Center |
The Cognitive and Physical Rehabilitation of Survivors of
Critical Illness: A Randomized Clinical Trial of In-home
Rehabilitation |
 |
|
Older individuals represent the vast majority of ICU patients and
increasing numbers are surviving but with residual cognitive and
physical deficits. The investigators hope that a multi-component
intervention will improve these cognitive and physical outcomes. The
intervention will include three components: functional training that
focuses on functional mobility and home safety, exercises directed
to improve physical impairment in strength, balance and endurance,
and cognitive training which targets executive cognitive processes
impacting the ability to carry out daily tasks. The investigators
will link the multi-modal rehabilitation strategy and take advantage
of tele-technology to access distant expertise. Given the multitude
of individual rehabilitation strategies available, developing an
integrated strategy that incorporates key aspects of each
intervention would be a major advance.
|
|
|
Martin Sadowski, MD, PhD
New York University
School of
Medicine |
David Holtzman, MD
Washington University School of
Medicine |
Peptide Mimetic Therapeutic Agents for Blocking the
Apolipoprotein E/Abeta Interaction |
|
|
A protein called apolipoprotein E or apoE is known to be involved
in the process of amyloid-beta deposition in the brain of patients
with Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid-beta deposition is a key factor in
causing Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, the interaction between
amyloid-beta and apoE is a key treatment target in the disease. Drs.
Sadowski and Holtzman’s proposal addresses two important issues: 1)
whether blocking the apoE/amyloid-beta interaction can be a
potential safe and therapeutic approach for humans; and 2) whether
peptidomimetic modification of a region of amyloid-beta called the
12-28 sequence can provide a lead compound with a potential for
clinical application. The proposed experiments represent several
important steps in advancing a potentially novel form of therapy
from animal models to potential clinical trials.
|
|
|
Scott Small, MD
Columbia University College of Physicians and
Surgeons |
Frank Longo, MD, PhD
Stanford University Medical
Center |
Ameliorating Age-related Memory Decline |
|
|
Through combining the fields of small molecule ligand development
and advanced neuron-imaging, Drs. Longo and Small hope to identify a
treatment protocol that, for the first time, may prove capable of
ameliorating age-related cognitive dysfunction. They will look
specifically at the role of exercise to open up the blood brain
barrier to allow passage of BDNF - brain derived neuron growth
factor.
|
|
|
Laura Dugan, MD
University of California, San Diego |
Jeremy Walston, MD
Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine |
Systemic Inflammation and Central Nervous System Dysfunction: A
Mechanistic and Translational Pilot |
|
|
The project examines a unifying hypothesis that both peripheral
inflammation and central neurotransmitter deficits provide a
feed-forward mechanism leading to cognitive decline and frailty. To
date, little is known about the biology that underlies this
vulnerability to adverse neurocognitive outcomes associated with
aging and frailty. Dr. Dugan and Walston hope to identify key
molecular pathways connecting inflammation to cognitive decline, and
to have a biological risk profile for frail older adults most at
risk for iatrogenic adverse cognitive outcomes. They plan mouse and
human studies to test the hypothesis.
|
|
|
Joshua Hare, MD
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
|
Michael Schwarzschild, MD
Harvard Medical School |
A Unified Hypothesis on the Protective Potential of Urate in
Aging Hearts and Brains |
|
|
Urate is believed to be a toxic metabolite, and elevated levels
are known to result in adverse consequences such as gouty arthritis
and nephropathy. However, recent clinical and laboratory findings
suggest that urate might provide cardiovascular and neuroprotective
benefits. Drs. Hare and Schwarzschild have developed a novel and
interesting hypothesis regarding urate as an anti-oxidant playing a
protective role in cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases of
aging. This proposal is in contrast to the current "dogma" that
higher urate levels are bad but has the potential to be a landmark
study that can change our thinking in the field.
|
» Read More
About the John A. Hartford Foundation
Founded in 1929,
the John A. Hartford Foundation is a committed champion of training,
research and service system innovations that promote the health and
independence of America’s older adults. Through its grantmaking, the
Foundation seeks to strengthen the nation's capacity to provide effective,
affordable care to this rapidly increasing older population by educating
"aging-prepared" health professionals (physicians, nurses, social
workers), and developing innovations that improve and better integrate
health and supportive services. The Foundation was established by John A.
Hartford. Mr. Hartford and his brother, George L. Hartford, both former
chief executives of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, left the
bulk of their estates to the Foundation upon their deaths in the 1950s.
Additional information about the Foundation and its programs is available
at www.jhartfound.org.
_____________________________________________
AFAR would like to thank the sponsors of our 2007 grant
programs:
- AFAR Research Grants*
- Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation/AFAR New Investigator Awards
in Alzheimer’s Disease
- Fannie E. Rippel Foundation/AFAR New Investigator Awards on Gender
Differences in Aging
*The AFAR Board of Directors, Dorothy
Dillon Eweson Endowment, The Partners of Goldman Sachs & Company,
David W. Gore, F.M. Kirby Foundation, Inc., Diane Nixon, Pfizer Inc, The
Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation, Siemens Medical Solutions USA,
Joseph L.K. Snyder Trust, The Starr Foundation, The Irving S. Wright
Endowment.
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation and the Fannie E. Rippel
Foundation are the sole sponsors of the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert
Foundation/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Alzheimer’s Disease and the
Fannie E. Rippel Foundation/AFAR New Investigator Awards on Gender
Differences in Aging.
Julie Martin Mid-Career Awards in Aging Research
The Ellison
Medical Foundation
Glenn/AFAR Breakthroughs in Gerontology (BIG) Awards
The
Glenn Foundation for Medical Research
Paul Beeson Career Development Awards in Aging
Research
National Institute on Aging
The National Institutes of
Health Office of Dietary Restrictions
The Atlantic
Philanthropies
The John A. Hartford Foundation
and an anonymous
donor
Paul Beeson Career Development Awards in Aging Research: Extension
to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
The Atlantic
Philanthropies
Hartford/AFAR Collaborative Research Awards
The John A.
Hartford Foundation
Ellison Medical Foundation/AFAR Senior Postdoctoral Research
Program
The Ellison Medical Foundation
Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR)
Program
National Institute on Aging
The John A. Hartford
Foundation
The William Randolph Hearst Foundation
The Cleveland
Foundation
Lillian R. Gleitsman Foundation
The Cardinal Health
Foundation
Community Health Foundation of Western & Central New
York
The New York Community Trust
And an anonymous donor
_____________________________________________
The
American Federation for Aging Research and the Ellison Medical Foundation
Increase their Commitment to Scientists Studying Basic Mechanisms of
Aging
Partnership expands with an infusion of nearly $4.5 million to
support and sustain early and mid-career scientists
At a time when established scientists are leaving academia because
of a lack of funding for biomedical research and a potential new
generation of scientists are considering whether to even enter a field
with a competitive funding environment, the Ellison Medical Foundation in
partnership with the American Federation for Aging Research has increased
funding for two critical grant programs: the new Ellison Medical
Foundation/AFAR Postdoctoral Fellows in Aging Research Program and the
Julie Martin Mid-Career Awards in Aging Research.
» Read More
