On August 5, 2025, Fox featured new research recently co-authored by AFAR grantees Pankaj Kapahi, PhD, and Tara Tracy, PhD, exploring the potential connection between slowing brain sugar metabolism and Alzheimer’s as well as other related neurodegenerative diseases.
In a related Buck Institute for Research on Aging press release, Dr. Karahi shares more on the research recently published in Nature Metabolism: “By discovering how neurons manage sugar, we may have unearthed a novel therapeutic strategy: one that targets the cell’s inner chemistry to fight age-related decline. As we continue to age as a society, findings like these offer hope that better understanding—and perhaps rebalancing—our brain’s hidden sugar code could unlock powerful tools for combating dementia.”
Dr. Kapahi has received multiple AFAR grants including: a 2001 Glenn/AFAR Postdoctoral Fellowship, a 2006 Glenn/AFAR Breakthroughs in Gerontology (BIG) Award, and a 2011 Julie Martin Mid-Career Award in Aging Research.
Dr. Tracy is a 2022 McKnight Brain Research Foundation Innovator Awards in Cognitive Aging and Memory Loss recipient.
Also picked up by Yahoo! News, read the article “Alzheimer’s researchers say targeting brain sugar could help protect against dementia,” here.
Read the related Buck Institute press release here.
