Project Grant R01NS141137

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) program, provides $631,577.00 to the University of Miami to conduct research on the role of neutrophils in vascular inflammation and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID).

The key research objectives are to: 1) use longitudinal in vivo two-photon imaging to determine how and when neutrophils become reactive in VCID, AD, and mixed AD mouse models; 2) utilize single-cell sequencing of neutrophils to identify disease-associated neutrophil subpopulations and elucidate the molecular mechanisms driving neutrophil changes; and 3) functionally test if activated neutrophils can be stopped to slow disease progression. The project involves a sub-award to Mayo Clinic Jacksonville for single-cell RNA sequencing experiments, and a sub-award to Florida International University for glycoproteomic and glycomic analyses of neutrophils from the mouse models. The award period runs from September 17, 2024 to August 31, 2029.