Cure Alzheimer's Fund Names Three New Research Consortium Members

WELLESLEY, Mass., Aug. 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cure Alzheimer's Fund has announced three new members to the organization's Research Consortium: Ben Barres, M.D., Ph.D.; Bart De Strooper, M.D., Ph.D.; and Nancy Ip, Ph.D. Dr. Barres is the Chair of the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. De Strooper is the Director of the center for biology of disease at VIB, the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology and professor at the Institute for Neurology, London and KU. Leuven, Belgium. Dr. Ip is the Dean of Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

"We are very fortunate that Ben, Bart and Nancy have agreed to join Cure Alzheimer's Fund's Research Consortium and believe their expertise and passion for ending this disease will help lead us to find effective treatments for Alzheimer's," said Tim Armour, President and CEO of Cure Alzheimer's Fund. "With their vast knowledge and experience, they will be excellent additions to this exceptional group of scientists."

In addition to his work at Stanford University, Dr. Barres serves on the editorial boards of Neuron, eLife, Current Opinion in Neurobiology, Development and the Journal of Cell Biology. He is a founding member of the Myelin Repair Foundation, which focuses on translational research to develop new drugs for multiple sclerosis, and a co-founder of a new company, Annexon Biosciences Inc., which is developing new drugs for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Barres is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Women in Science and the National Academies of Science and Medicine, and as a transgender man, an activist for the rights of women and minorities.

At the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology, Dr. De Strooper is a professor of molecular medicine whose scientific work is focused on the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that underlie Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. He was the first to identify presenilin as part of the γ-secretase and demonstrated its pivotal role in Notch signaling. He works currently on microRNA, stem cell biology and single cell analysis of neurodegenerative diseases.  Bart De Strooper is a member of the Academia Europaea, an elected member of the European Molecular Biology organization, and an elected fellow of the American Association of Sciences. Together with fellow Cure Alzheimer's Fund's Research Consortium member Christian Haass, Bart De Strooper received the Potamkin Award of the American Academy of Neurology in 2002.

As the Dean of Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Dr. Ip is well known for her seminal discoveries in the biology of neurotrophic factors, the proteins that promote the survival, development and maintenance of neurons in the nervous system. Her major research interests are in neural development and function as well as drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Ip has been elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the US National Academy of Sciences, the World Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is also a member of the Global Agenda Council on Brain Research of the World Economic Forum and plays a significant role in the development of biotechnology in Hong Kong.

"I have had the privilege of working with Ben, Bart, and Nancy and their research has provided significant contributions to our understanding of Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Rudy Tanzi, chair of Cure Alzheimer's Fund's Research Consortium. "The consortium is an important place for researchers to share new insights into this disease, and I know that Ben, Bart, and Nancy will add to our ability to advance research.  I look forward to the benefit they will bring to Cure Alzheimer's Fund in their new capacity as members of our distinguished Research Consortium."

Cure Alzheimer's Fund is a non-profit dedicated to funding the most promising research to prevent, slow or reverse Alzheimer's disease. Since its founding in 2004, Cure Alzheimer's Fund has contributed over $40 million to research, and its funded initiatives have been responsible for several key breakthroughs – including the groundbreaking "Alzheimer's in a Dish" study. With 100 percent of funds raised going directly to research, Cure Alzheimer's has been able to support some of the best scientific minds in the field of Alzheimer's research. For more information, please visit http://www.curealz.org/

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SOURCE Cure Alzheimer’s Fund

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