This Project Grant award of $638,682 from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866), supports research to investigate the role of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of the TDP-43 protein and its interactions with mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases. The research aims to systematically examine how LLPS regulates TDP-43 localization to mitochondria, and how this contributes to TDP-43-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and neuronal loss, using...
This federal Project Grant award of $822,643.00, awarded by the National Institute on Aging under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866), will fund a research project to investigate how chronic exposure to common environmental neurotoxicants like lead, cadmium, and arsenic impact brain aging and the risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). The researchers at Boston University Medical Campus, the prime awardee, will use innovative mouse models developed by the Model-AD Consortium to study...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) aims to identify novel small molecules that can stabilize functional, N-terminal domain (NTD)-dependent TDP43 multimers. The goal is to restore TDP43 function and rescue TDP43-associated pathologies in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and other TDP43 proteinopathies. The $404,058 award will fund a high-throughput screening pipeline using engineered fluorescence...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) to Case Western Reserve University provides $442,750 to develop synthetic replicas of TDP-43 protein filaments associated with frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The goal is to establish in vitro conditions for generating amyloid fibrils with structures identical to brain-derived TDP-43 filaments, which would enable mechanistic studies on disease-relevant aggregation pathways...
This Project Grant award of $374,349 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) program, supports the development and optimization of a new animal model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The goal is to create a mouse model that accurately recapitulates the human disease spectrum by incorporating an acetylation-mimicking...
This $3,841,367 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866) supports research to better understand the role of the TBK1 protein kinase and associated autophagy pathways in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) will use advanced stem cell models and proteomics to: 1) identify novel TBK1 substrates and characterize the effects of TBK1 loss on...
This Cooperative Agreement award, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) under the Aging Research Federal Grant Program (CFDA 93.866), provides $2,175,074 to support a research project investigating the role of mid-life environmental toxicant exposures on the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD). The project, led by the University of Pennsylvania, will leverage the ongoing Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study to repeatedly measure...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) program, provides $251,250.00 to the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMass Medical) to investigate the role of TDP-43 dysfunction and its impact on neuroimmune processes in models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The award period runs from April...
This Cooperative Agreement award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), under the Aging Research federal grant program (CFDA 93.866), provides $4,422,126.00 in funding to the Regents of the University of Michigan to conduct research on the impact of exposure to toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium, and arsenic, and their interaction with genetic susceptibility in driving the development of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). The key objectives of this 5-year project are to:...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) provides $460,625.00 to the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMass Medical) from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2027. The grant supports research to investigate the role of TDP-43 citrullination in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. The...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 Aging Research) will provide $3,727,176 to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study how environmental toxicants impact the development of TDP-43 proteinopathies, a hallmark of neurodegenerative disorders like frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The research team will conduct in vivo and neuronal model experiments to evaluate the pathophysiological relevance of toxicant exposure, examine direct and indirect mechanisms by which toxicants mediate TDP-43 dysfunction, and assess the extent to which toxicants affect TDP-43-dependent pathways versus disruption of other key signaling pathways. A sub-award to North Carolina State University will oversee experiments using zebrafish models to assess the effects of toxicant exposure on cognition, memory, exercise endurance, anxiety-like responses, TDP-43 pathology, and brain protein composition. This innovative and significant study aims to connect environmental agents to neurodegenerative disease, which could inform strategies to mitigate disease burden.