Researchers Join the Fight to Defeat Brain Disease

LOS ANGELES, April 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A common denominator in the search for better treatments, prevention, and cures for migraine, epilepsy, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and more than 400 other diseases and disorders of the brain and nervous system is the shortage of physicians in research careers. The estimated annual cost to American society of nine most common neurological disorders is $800 billion, yet the number of physicians in research careers looking to unlock the secrets of brain disease has remained flat since 2004.  

That is why funding the innovative research of early-career investigators is a cornerstone program of the American Brain Foundation which has supported almost 250 neurologists and neuroscientists in their early research, enabling 79 percent of them to request and receive federal or non-federal funding for long-term research.

Today the American Brain Foundation announced multi-year funding, totaling $1,580,000 for the projects of 10 rising brain disease researchers, provided in conjunction with its research partners, the American Academy of Neurology and 9 of the most prestigious national organizations working for better treatments, prevention and cures of a broad array of brain diseases. The researchers and the Foundation's research partners include:

McKnight Clinical Translational Research Scholarships in Cognitive Aging and Age-Related Memory Loss – Two awarded at $150,000 over 2 years
Funded by the McKnight Brain Research Foundation through the American Brain Foundation, and the American Academy of Neurology Institute
Brice McConnell, PhD, MD, Denver, CO
Kimberly Albert, PhD, Nashville, TN

Susan S. Spencer Clinical Research Training Scholarship in Epilepsy - $130,000 over 2 years
Funded by the American Epilepsy Society, Epilepsy Foundation, and American Brain Foundation
In collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology Institute
Hiroki Nariai, MD, Los Angeles, CA

Clinical Research Training Scholarship in Muscular Dystrophy - $130,000 over 2 years
Funded by the Muscular Dystrophy Association and American Brain Foundation
In collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology Institute
Katharine Nicholson, MD, Boston, MS

Clinical Research Training Scholarship in ALS - $150,000 over 2 years
Funded by The ALS Association and American Brain Foundation
In collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology Institute
Peter Creigh, MD, Rochester, NY

Clinician Scientist Development Award in Interventional Neurology - $240,000 over 3 years
Funded by the Society of Vascular & Interventional Neurology and American Brain Foundation
In collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology Institute
Sunil A. Sheth, MD, Houston, Texas

Clinical Research Training Scholarship in Dementia with Lewy Bodies - $130,000 over 2 years
Funded by The Mary E. Groff Charitable Trust and American Brain Foundation
In collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology Institute
Bhavana Patel, MD, Gainesville, FL

Clinical Research Training Scholarship in Tourette Syndrome - $130,000 over 2 years
Funded by the Tourette Association of America and American Brain Foundation
In collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology Institute
Wissam Georges Deeb, MD, Gainesville, FL

Clinician Scientist Development Award in Multiple Sclerosis - $240,000 over 3 years
Funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and American Brain Foundation
Emily Harrington, MD, PhD, Baltimore, MD

Clinical Research Training Scholarship in Neuromuscular Disease - $130,000 over 2 years
Funded by the Muscle Study Group and American Brain Foundation
In collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology Institute
Davut Pehlivan, MD, Houston, Texas

"Through our research partnerships, the American Brain Foundation is working to develop an army of researchers investigating across the whole spectrum of brain diseases," said Dr. Robert Griggs, chair of the American Brain Foundation Research Advisory Committee. "Our unique research partnership with our founder, the American Academy of Neurology, gives our Foundation access to the best and brightest minds to source the most high-risk and high-reward research."

About the American Brain Foundation: The American Brain Foundation brings researchers and donors together to defeat brain disease. The Foundation funds the vital research needed to cure the brain diseases that affect one in six Americans. The Foundation believes that funding research across the broad spectrum of brain diseases is the best hope for finding better treatments, prevention, and cures for the brain diseases affecting 1 in 6 people, because the major diseases of the brain and nervous system are scientifically and mechanistically related. Founded by the American Academy of Neurology, the world's largest association serving neurologists and the neuroscience community, the American Brain Foundation's mission is to bring researchers and donors together to defeat brain disease. www.AmericanBrainFoundation.org

SOURCE American Brain Foundation