Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation and Harrington Discovery Institute Center for Brain Health Medicines Invite Proposals for 2024 ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award

Call for proposals focused on proteostasis, senescence, and other novel approaches.

CLEVELAND and NEW YORK, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Harrington Discovery Institute Center for Brain Health Medicines at University Hospitals and the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announce a joint request for proposals for the 2024 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 2024 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

Letters of Intent (LOI) must be submitted online here and will be accepted through June 3, 2024 at 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, Center for Brain Health Medicines
Harrington Discovery Institute
[email protected]  

or

Meriel Owen, PhD
Director, 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.

About The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)
Founded in 1998 by Leonard A. and Ronald S. Lauder, the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation is dedicated to rapidly accelerating the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer's disease. The ADDF is the only public charity solely focused on funding the development of drugs for Alzheimer's, employing a venture philanthropy model to support research in academia and the biotech industry. The ADDF's leadership and contributions to the field have played a pivotal role in bringing the first Alzheimer's PET scan (Amyvid®) and blood test (PrecivityAD®) to market, as well as fueling the current robust and diverse drug pipeline. Through the generosity of its donors, the ADDF has awarded more than $290 million to fund over 750 Alzheimer's drug discovery programs, biomarker programs and clinical trials in 20 countries.  To learn more, please visit:  http://www.alzdiscovery.org/.

About the Harrington Discovery Institute

Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, OH—part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development—aims to advance medicine and society by enabling our nation's most inventive scientists to turn their discoveries into medicines that improve human health. Harrington Discovery Institute was created in 2012 with a $50 million founding gift from the Harrington family and is a prime example of the commitment they share with University Hospitals to a Vision for a 'Better World'. For more information, visit: HarringtonDiscovery.org.

SOURCE Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation