Florida Department of Health Announces Grant Funding for Alzheimer's Disease Research

Contact:
Communications Office
NewsMedia@flhealth.gov
(850) 245-4111

Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, the Florida Department of Health announced the 2017-2018 grant awards for 31 projects, totaling $5 million, to support research leading to the prevention of or cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. Funding is provided through the Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program that supports research for better prevention, diagnosis, treatments and cures for Alzheimer’s disease.

Governor Rick Scott said, “These grants support research programs across the state that are looking to find new treatments and preventions that give hope to finding a cure for this heartbreaking disease. We are proud to build on our commitment to the many individuals and families who have been affected by Alzheimer’s and look forward to seeing the continued success of Florida’s world-class research community.”

State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. Celeste Philip said, “I am pleased that we are able to once again fund innovative projects that further the progress to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease and research to improve the lives of patients living with the disease. I’d like to thank Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature for their continued support of the Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program. As always, I would like to thank the dedicated members of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Grant Advisory Board for recommending such high-impact projects that represent our state’s agenda of prevention, recognition, treatment and family support.”

The research grants were awarded through a peer-reviewed, competitive process based on recommendations by the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Grant Advisory Board. Researchers at any university or research institute in Florida are eligible to apply.

The following organizations and research projects received grant funding awards:

Ava Maria University - $100,000

• Inhibiting Alzheimer's disease by modulating a key player in plaque and tangle formation, SIRT1, by regulating the formation of nicotinamide metabolites

Florida Atlantic University - $100,000

• Neuroprotection of GCSF Gene therapy in Alzheimer's disease

Florida Institute of Technology - $100,000

• CO Releasing Polymer Nanoparticles for Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

Florida International University - $224,643

• Therapeutic role of Withaferin A and CRID3 in the prevention of AD. A Novel Nanotechnology Approach.

Florida State University - $100,000

• Disparities in health services utilization across racial/ethnic groups among persons with Alzheimer's disease and related conditions

Mayo Clinic - $841,999

• Quantitative neuropathology and biochemistry of survival differences in Hispanic Americans with Alzheimer's disease $221,000
• Impact of TREM2 variants on microglial function and Alzheimer's disease pathology $221,000
• Evaluating the impact of a Dementia-Caring Community model on African Americans with Alzheimer's disease and their care partners $200,000
• Targeting Lrrk2 activity to modulate tau pathology $99,999
• Identifying drug targets using long-read sequencing in Alzheimer's diseased and control brain tissue $100,000

Mount Sinai Medical Center - $96,643

• Impact of the Modified MindSet Training Program on Maintaining Optimal Function among early Alzheimer's patients and their care partners

University of Central Florida - $495,784

• Protein Disulfide Isomerase Uses Conditional Disorder as a Disaggregase Mechanism to Detoxify Amyloid Beta Fibrils $200,000
• Optical Characterization of the Aggregation (Change in size, Fibril Formation), Accompanying Structural Changes, and Membrane Pore Formation $200,000
• Factors Influencing Family Caregivers' Medical Decision-Making for Patients with Advanced Alzheimer's Disease $95,784

University of Florida - $938,207

• Periodontal Bacteria augment Progression of Abeta; and Tau Pathology $221,000
• Towards understanding the biological role of newly discovered Alzheimer's disease susceptibility genes affecting immune function $221,000
• Precision Public Health Approaches to Reduce Disparities in Memory Disorder Screening in Rural Minority Communities $200,000
• Investigations of Neuropathologies Targeted by Clinical Trials in Alzheimer's Disease Patients $99,987
• Role of microglia in primary age related tauopathy and in sporadic (late-onset) Alzheimer's disease $96,643
• Seeded interactions of Abeta; and neurofibrillary tangle pathologies in mouse models $99,577

University of Miami - $1,181,724

• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neuropsychology $89,304
• Cardiovascular and Lifestyle Stressors of Hippocampus and AD related brain regions $221,000
• The Relationships between Multimodal Neuroimaging Biomarkers and A Novel Cognitive Stress Test (CST) Among Ethnically Diverse Older Adults $450,844
• Extracellular vesicles as novel therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's disease $221,000
• Identification of noncoding functional variant(s) underlying Alzheimer disease GWAS hits $100,000
• Investigating the Role of SORL1 in Alzheimer's Disease $99,576

University of South Florida - $821,000

• Emerging role of tau citrullination in Alzheimer's Disease $100,000
• Microglial Phenotype in Alzheimer's Disease $100,000
• Divergent RanBP9 signaling in tau pathogenesis $221,000
• Exploiting GPRC6a Antagonists to Mitigate Tau Deposition $200,000
• Novel therapeutic agent targets on multiple risk factors for the treatment of AD $200,000

Funding through the Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program is the result of an initiative passed by the 2014 legislature and signed into law by Governor Rick Scott.

Kay Redington, CEO, Alzheimer's Association, Central and North Florida said, "The Alzheimer’s Association is grateful to our state lawmakers and their continued support of our mission to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research and aid in our vision of a world without Alzheimer’s disease.”

Dr. Leilani Doty, Outreach, Recruitment, Retention and Education Core Leader/Co-Principal Investigator of the 1Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Past Director of the University of Florida Memory Disorder Clinics and Chair of the Florida Department of Health Alzheimer’s Disease Research Grant Advisory Board said, “I am grateful that for the fourth straight year, the Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program will help Florida make great strides in Alzheimer’s research. The commitment of the Florida Legislature to support research will lead to critical discoveries to improve the lives of persons with Alzheimer’s disease as well as their caregivers who deal with the daily challenges of the disease. I look forward to the efforts of our dedicated and diligent researchers in our top-notch Florida research universities and institutes to help us move closer toward finding a cure and, better yet, finding ways to keep the brain healthy and stopping Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias before they start.”

For more information on the Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program, please visit the department’s Research on Alzheimer’s Disease homepage.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health, please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.