Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation and Harrington Discovery Institute Brain Health Medicines Center Invite Proposals for the 2026 ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award

Call for proposals on proteostasis and senescence are particularly encouraged, alongside all novel approaches to treating Alzheimer's disease

CLEVELAND and NEW YORK, May 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Harrington Discovery Institute's Brain Health Medicines Center at University Hospitals and the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announce a joint request for proposals for the 2026 ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award. The ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award is designed to accelerate the translation of innovative research that could treat, prevent, slow, or reverse Alzheimer's disease or related dementias.

The Request for Proposals (RFP) is open to academic investigators at accredited medical centers, research institutions, and universities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Researchers working on drug development programs that are relevant to, but not presently focused on, the Alzheimer's field are strongly encouraged to apply.

This award provides a combination of financial support and expert drug development guidance. Award recipients will receive financial support up to $600,000 over two years, dedicated drug development and project management support, and an opportunity to qualify for investment funds.

The 2026 ADDF-Harrington Scholar RFP places high priority on targets related to emerging therapeutic areas for dementia, particularly:

• Proteostasis (including autophagy, lysosomal biogenesis, proteasomal degradation, post-translational modification associated with proteostasis, protein folding/misfolding, ER stress, extracellular clearance)
• Senescence (including cells that have halted division, shifted towards a secretory phenotype, altered morphology and epigenetics, and decreased apoptosis)

Other novel targets are encouraged. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Epigenetics
• Vascular pathology
• Neuroprotection
• Synaptic activity and neurotransmitters
• Inflammation
• Mitochondrial health
• Antioxidant defense
• Metabolic function and brain energy
• Brain insulin resistance
• ApoE
• Glymphatic clearance
• Postnatal neurogenesis
• Other aging targets

Therapeutic targets with a clear marker of target engagement, either established or in development, will be considered of high priority.

Letters of Intent (LOI) must be submitted online here and will be accepted through June 2, 2025, at 5:00 pm EDT. Full proposals, for those who are invited to submit, are due August 18, 2025, 5:00 PM EDT. We encourage an interactive application process in efforts to solicit the best applications. Scientific inquiries can be directed to either:

Andrew A. Pieper, MD, PhD
Director, Brain Health Medicines Center
Harrington Discovery Institute
[email protected]  

or

Aaron Burstein, PharmD
Head of Search and Evaluation
Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation
[email protected]

About the ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award
The ADDF and Harrington Discovery Institute formed a partnership in 2013 to leverage the organizations' combined expertise and resources to advance highly-promising Alzheimer's disease discovery projects conducted in academic and medical institutions. The ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award was established as a result of this partnership and is helping scientists chart a path from the bench to clinical studies to improve the lives of people living with, and at risk of, Alzheimer's. To learn more, visit: HarringtonDiscovery.org/ADDF.

SOURCE Harrington Discovery Institute