Alzheimer's Association Awards First $1 Million Grant to University of Pennsylvania Scientists

Alzheimer's Association
Thursday, 15 October 1998

The Alzheimer's Association today announced the award of its first $1 million research grant to scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine.

The recipients are John Q. Trojanowski, M.D., Ph.D. and Virginia M.-Y. Lee, Ph.D. Drs. Trojanowski and Lee study neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, for which both have received numerous awards. The two scientists are husband and wife. The grant is the Association's largest ever, and one of the largest research grants in the Alzheimer's disease field.

"It is absolutely crucial that we provide scientists with the resources they need to help us create a world without Alzheimer's disease," said Edward Truschke, Association president and CEO. The goal of the funded project, titled "Alpha-Synuclein, NAC and the Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease," is to develop new tests for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

"Drs. Trojanowski and Lee are superb scientists, and we're very pleased they are the recipients of our first Pioneer Award grant. They've been directly involved in groundbreaking work on Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, and we look forward to seeing them put this substantial award to good use improving the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and other dementing disorders," Truschke said.

"Dr. Lee and I are greatly honored to receive the Alzheimer's Association's Pioneer Award," said Trojanowski. "Alzheimer's is a debilitating disease which, when it strikes its victims, robs them of the very core of their being. Dr. Lee and I are committed to continuing our research in the hopes of realizing a cure for Alzheimer's disease in the near future."

Dr. Trojanowski served as chair of the Alzheimer's Association's Reagan Institute working group on diagnostic criteria for the neuropathological assessment of Alzheimer's disease, and is a former member of the Association's Medical and Scientific Advisory Board. In 1991, Dr. Lee received the Association's Zenith Award. Drs. Trojanowski and Lee are members of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee of the Association's Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter.

"We're extremely proud that the Alzheimer's Association has chosen Drs. Trojanowski and Lee as recipients of this most prestigious award," said William N. Kelley, M.D., CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Dean of the university's School of Medicine. "The name of the award is appropriate, because they are truly pioneers in the field. Through the efforts of researchers such as Drs. Trojanowski and Lee, we are getting closer to understanding and conquering this devastating disease."

The award was presented at a special luncheon sponsored by the Association, its Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter and the University of Pennsylvania.

The Pioneer Award

During the past 15 years, important changes have occurred in the national research landscape, many of which are the direct result of the efforts and advocacy of the Alzheimer's Association. According to the Association, the field of Alzheimer research has quickly matured and the questions raised by research have become substantially more complex.

"It has become necessary for scientists to engage multidisciplinary research teams, launch long-term studies and obtain more advanced laboratory and computer equipment. Sophisticated research costs more and takes longer," Truschke said.

To meet these new challenges, the Association developed a new research grant program — the Pioneer Award for Alzheimer's Disease Research. The award provides total funding of up to $1 million, for a period of up to five years.

"The Pioneer Award is structured to provide investigators the flexibility to make mid-course adjustments and corrections, and to seize new opportunities," Truschke said. "It also was designed to recognize scientists who have made important contributions to our knowledge of Alzheimer's disease — particularly those who have done excellent work over a sustained period of time."

"The Pioneer Award program, which will expand to three $1 million grants for fiscal year 1999, demonstrates the Alzheimer's Association's commitment to solve the puzzle of Alzheimer's disease through research."

The Alzheimer's Association's 1999 Research Grants Program

The Association will award approximately $16 million in research grants during fiscal year 1999 (July 1998 to June 1999). Research grant funding will focus on interventions for Alzheimer's disease, with two major thrusts: biological approaches and behavioral approaches to prevention, treatment and care.

A primary objective of the Association is to target prevention of the devastating effects of Alzheimer's to ensure effective treatments and delay the onset of disabling symptoms. "Only a few years ago, such a bold vision and goal would have been unthinkable," Truschke said. "But our understanding of the disease has accelerated so that it is now within our scientific grasp to delay the onset of disabling symptoms and allow people with Alzheimer's disease to continue functioning independently for longer periods. A delay of five years for all groups over age 65 would reduce by nearly half the total number of individuals with the disease. But, we need to act quickly. In 20 years, attempts will be too little and too late, because the healthcare needs of an estimated 7 million people with Alzheimer's will overwhelm the available resources."

For more information, or to contact Alzheimer's Association, see their website at: www.alz.org