Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) awarded $921,020 to The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (doing business as Stony Brook University) on March 15, 2026, under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866) to develop and validate a novel positron emission tomography (PET) imaging biomarker for detecting neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The project, which extends through February 28, 2031, focuses on evaluating a cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) targeting radioligand's ability to identify varying levels of neuroinflammatory activity across the AD disease spectrum—from preclinical AD through AD dementia—and to correlate these findings with established AD biomarkers and cognitive impairment severity. This research addresses a critical gap in neuroinflammation-specific biomarkers needed to optimize future inflammation-modifying drug trials, building on recent advances in COX-1 radioligand development that targets microglial activation surrounding amyloid plaques.

The deliverables include comprehensive imaging assessments across multiple patient cohorts at different AD stages, associations between COX-1 brain binding and disease progression markers, and comparative analysis with complementary imaging and plasma biomarkers. Ultimately, successful validation of this COX-1 PET radioligand as a neuroinflammatory biomarker would provide researchers with a precision tool to identify optimal patient populations, drug dosing strategies, and intervention windows for clinical trials of anti-inflammatory therapies targeting AD pathology.