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.

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Beeson Award Goes Global: Largest Prize in Academic Geriatrics Awarded to Researchers in Ireland and Northern Ireland

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.

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To learn more, please visit www.atlanticphilanthropies.org.

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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

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.

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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 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

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The American Federation for Aging Research and the Ellison Medical Foundation Increase their Commitment to Scientists Studying Basic Mechanisms of Aging

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