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The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation has issued a Request for Proposals for its Preclinical Drug Discovery program. Through the program, grants of up to $600,000 over two years will be awarded to promising preclinical drug discovery programs relevant to Alzheimer's disease, related dementias, and cognitive aging. Preclinical research funding priorities include high throughput screening, medicinal chemistry hit-to-lead development and optimization, in vitro and in vivo efficacy studies, ADME, toxicology, pharma-cokinetics and pharma-co-dynamics, and in vivo proof-of-concept with lead compounds and biologics. Program areas of particular interest include new chemical compounds for Alzheimer's disease, preclinical proof-of-concept, and re-purposing. With regards to potential drug targets, ADDF is interested in novel targets that include but are not limited to neuro-inflammation, protein degradation/autophagy, growth factor signaling, synaptic function/morphology, calcium regulation, energy utilization/mitochondria function, insulin sensitivity, epigenetics, ApoE function and cholesterol metabolism, vascular injury and the blood-brain barrier interface, cognitive enhancers, myelin changes, ischemia and oxidative stress, and tau-related toxicities. To be eligible, applicants must be academic investigators seeking to create and support innovative translational programs in academic medical centers and universities; biotechnology companies with programs dedicated to Alzheimer's disease translational development; and new biotechnology company spinouts or existing biotechnology companies that demonstrate a clear need for nonprofit funding. Funding is provided through program-related investments (PRIs) that require a return on investment based on scientific and/or business milestones.

The goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to provide funding support for the pre-clinical and early stage clinical (Phase I) development of novel small-molecule and biologic therapeutic agents that prevent Alzheimer's disease (AD), slow its progression or treat its cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Participants in this program will receive funding for therapy development activities such as medicinal chemistry, pharmacokinetics (PK), Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, Toxicology (ADMET), efficacy in animal models, formulation development, chemical synthesis under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies and initial Phase I clinical testing. This program does not support research on basic mechanisms of disease, mechanisms of drug action, development of biomarkers, devices, non-pharmacological interventions (e.g., exercise, diet, cognitive training), repurposed drugs and combinations therapies, or discovery activities such as high throughput screening and hit optimization.

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) is inviting applications to its Prevention Beyond the Pipeline program. Through the program, grants will be awarded in support of comparative effectiveness research, prevention clinical trials, and epidemiological studies that probe whether the use or choice of drugs alters the risk for dementia or cognitive decline. Funding priorities identified by the foundation include: Consortium of Cohorts for Alzheimer's Prevention Action (CAPA) - Epidemiological studies contribute unmatched information on whether the risk of dementia or cognitive decline may be influenced by long-term exposure to specific foods or supplements. However, high-powered studies are needed in order to translate epidemiological research into actionable interventions for testing. Through the CAPA Consortium, ADDF will support collaborative analyses on dementia prevention using a minimum of five longitudinal cohorts, either harmonized or analyzed through parallel analysis of cohorts using a shared analysis script.

REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia that presents with abnormal dream mentation, abnormal behaviors, and increased electromyographic tone on polysomnography during REM sleep. Older individuals with RBD frequently develop neurodegenerative diseases, particularly α-synucleinopathies: Parkinson's disease (PD), Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), and Multi-System Atrophy (MSA). Individuals with idiopathic RBD (iRBD) develop an overt synucleinopathy at high rates: 40-50% in 5 years and 80-92% in long-term follow up. iRBD provides a unique opportunity to understand the clinical development and evolution of α-synucleinopathies, as well as a potential path for developing disease prevention therapies. While it is not possible at this time to identify whether a person will develop PD, LBD, or MSA, iRBD is a preclinical/prodromal phase of neurodegenerative, particularly α-synucleinopathy, illness. The current iRBD research community includes investigators and centers across North America and the world. There have been attempts to carry out multi-center iRBD research, but interpretation of findings has been complicated by small numbers of iRBD subjects at individual centers; differences in assessment protocols, including collection methods for cognitive and biomarker data; and variability in diagnostic procedures at different centers. This FOA seeks to develop and support a consortium of investigators who will establish a common iRBD research protocol to collect and share harmonized clinical, cognitive, and biomarker data, establishing a centralized repository of biosamples from individuals with iRBD as they progress from prodromal α-synucleinopathy to PD, LBD, or MSA.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications that focus on clarifying the relationship between delirium and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Specifically sought is research focusing on understanding why persons with ADRD are at increased risk to develop delirium, often with a worse prognosis compared to those without antecedent ADRD, and why patients who experience delirium are at higher risk to develop subsequent short- and/or long-term mild cognitive impairment or ADRD, often with an accelerated rate of cognitive decline compared to those without preceding delirium. Relevant research projects may focus on, but are not limited to, those that A) provide insight into possible common, sequential, causative, contributory and/or synergistic pathways underlying both ADRD and delirium, B) elucidate mechanisms that lead to the development of delirium against the background of aging and/or neurodegeneration, with particular emphasis on use of appropriate animal models, C) identify risk factors for the onset and/or progression of delirium in those with ADRD and vice versa, D) diagnose and assess one condition in the setting of the other, E) identify putative phenotypes of patients with co-existing ADRD and delirium, or F) test pharmacologic and/or non-pharmacologic strategies to prevent, treat, or reduce the impact of delirium in patients with ADRD and vice versa. Research supported by this FOA is intended to provide mechanistic insight to improve risk assessment, diagnosis, phenotyping, prevention, and management approaches for both delirium and ADRD.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications that propose Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and/or Deep Learning (DL) approaches, collectively referred to here as "cognitive systems," that lead to the identification of gene mutations/variants that cause or contribute to the risk of or protection against the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Alzheimer's disease related dementias (ADRD) via analysis of a variety of genetic, genomic, and biomarker data that are currently available to the research community.

The General & Age Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE) program supports fundamental engineering research that will lead to the development of new technologies, devices, or software that improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities. Research may be supported that is directed toward the characterization, restoration, and/or substitution of human functional ability or cognition, or to the interaction of persons with disabilities and their environment. Areas of particular interest are disability-related research in neuroengineering and rehabilitation robotics. Emphasis is placed on significant advancement of fundamental engineering knowledge that facilitates transformative outcomes. We discourage applications that propose incremental improvements. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Director prior to submitting a proposal.

The General & Age Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE) program supports fundamental engineering research that will lead to the development of new technologies, devices, or software that improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities. Research may be supported that is directed toward the characterization, restoration, and/or substitution of human functional ability or cognition, or to the interaction of persons with disabilities and their environment. Areas of particular interest are disability-related research in neuroengineering and rehabilitation robotics. Emphasis is placed on significant advancement of fundamental engineering knowledge that facilitates transformative outcomes. We discourage applications that propose incremental improvements. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Director prior to submitting a proposal. 

The General & Age Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE) program supports fundamental engineering research that will lead to the development of new technologies, devices, or software that improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities. Research may be supported that is directed toward the characterization, restoration, and/or substitution of human functional ability or cognition, or to the interaction of persons with disabilities and their environment. Areas of particular interest are disability-related research in neuroengineering and rehabilitation robotics. Emphasis is placed on significant advancement of fundamental engineering knowledge that facilitates transformative outcomes. We discourage applications that propose incremental improvements. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Director prior to submitting a proposal.

The General & Age Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE) program supports fundamental engineering research that will lead to the development of new technologies, devices, or software that improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities. Research may be supported that is directed toward the characterization, restoration, and/or substitution of human functional ability or cognition, or to the interaction of persons with disabilities and their environment. Areas of particular interest are disability-related research in neuroengineering and rehabilitation robotics. Emphasis is placed on significant advancement of fundamental engineering knowledge that facilitates transformative outcomes. We discourage applications that propose incremental improvements. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Director prior to submitting a proposal. 

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications that expand on foundational research demonstrating generally improved emotional function and emotion regulation with aging, to further clarify the trajectories of change in emotion processing and linked neurobiological factors in adults who are aging normally, as well as in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (ADRD). The goal is three-fold: to advance understanding of

There is a global trend in the rise of HIV among older adults. In 2013, an estimated 42% of Americans living with HIV were at least 50 years old, 25% were at least 55 years old, and 6% were at least 65 years old. Since the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV, people infected with the virus have been living longer and experiencing fewer of the medical conditions directly attributable to HIV infection and AIDS. However, with longer life expectancy, individuals living with long-term HIV infection exhibit many clinical characteristics commonly observed in aging: multiple chronic diseases or conditions, the use of multiple medications, and changes in physical and cognitive abilities.

The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to support and promote broad applications of optogenetic tools for research on normal and/or pathological aging of neural systems including sensory, motor, cognitive, emotional, autonomic, sleep, and neurovascular, or Alzheimer's disease (AD), as well as to encourage additional development of aging and AD specific optogenetic tools.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to invite applications to perform ancillary studies and secondary analyses of data and/or biospecimens from ongoing or completed studies of the effects of inflammation and/or anti-inflammatory agents on geriatric conditions, such as functional decline, mobility disability, fatigue, falls, cognitive decline/dementia, and chronic pain. Data that can inform designs of possible future interventional studies on modulating the effects of chronic inflammation in such conditions are of particular interest. Analyses of both beneficial and harmful effects of modulating chronic inflammation in older individuals are of interest. Other types of studies of interest to NIA include mechanistic studies to explore the pathophysiologic processes by which chronic, low-grade inflammation may accelerate functional decline or other geriatric conditions, and how these pathways may be disrupted by interventions. The secondary analyses and ancillary studies supported by this (FOA) may be based on data and/or biospecimens from either ongoing or completed clinical trials.

This FOA invites applications on descriptive, basic and translational studies of APOE2 to delineate the functional effects of ApoE2 on healthy aging of the brain and other tissues. The primary focus is on the "APOE2-Aging-AD" relationship and the mechanistic effects of the protective variant on aging and potential interaction/cross talk between tissues in the aging process and AD. These studies are expected to generate new mechanistic insights that involve brain and/or other organs and assist in the identification of potential prognostic and diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for AD and other age-related cognitive disorders. Eventually, the findings from these studies could lead to translational research opportunities not only to prevent or delay the onset of AD, but also to protect against multiple age-related conditions.  

This funding opportunity announcement invites comprehensive, cross-disciplinary studies aimed at building predictive molecular models of cognitive resilience based on high-dimensional molecular data collected in individuals who remain free of dementia despite being at high risk for Alzheimer's disease. 

The ADDF-Harrington Scholar Program is a collaboration between the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and Harrington Discovery Institute. The goal of developing new therapies will be achieved by providing award recipients with both research funding and committed project support by a team of pharmaceutical industry experts. Proposals should show potential to advance discovery into meaningful therapeutics to treat, prevent, or slow Alzheimer's disease, other dementias, and cognitive aging.

The purpose of this FOA is to solicit applications for the next 6-year cycle of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which is the leading longitudinal data resource on patterns of age-related changes in the health and well-being of adults age 50 and older in the U.S. The goals of the next cycle are to: 1) continue the current structure and design elements of the HRS while reducing respondent burden; 2) establish a repository of blood samples for future study; 3) enrich administrative linkages and collaborations with genetics consortia; 4) conduct follow-up dementia assessment using the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) to update data on the prevalence of dementia including Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD); 5) enhance harmonization with comparable surveys of population aging; and 6) augment data dissemination and user support. 

The General & Age Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE) program supports research that will lead to the development of new technologies, devices, or software for persons with disabilities.  Research may be supported that is directed to the characterization, restoration, and/or substitution of human functional ability or cognition, or to the interaction of persons with disabilities and their environment.  Areas of particular recent interest are disability-related research in neuroscience/neuroengineering and rehabilitation robotics.  Emphasis is placed on significant advancement of fundamental engineering and scientific knowledge and not on incremental improvements.  Proposals should advance discovery or innovation beyond the frontiers of current knowledge in disability-related research.  Applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Director prior to submitting a proposal. Undergraduate Engineering Design Projects are also supported, especially those that provide prototype "custom-designed" devices or software for persons with disabilities.  The education of undergraduate engineering students is enhanced through Undergraduate Engineering Design Projects' awards supported by the GARDE program. 

The General & Age Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE) program supports research that will lead to the development of new technologies, devices, or software for persons with disabilities.  Research may be supported that is directed to the characterization, restoration, and/or substitution of human functional ability or cognition, or to the interaction of persons with disabilities and their environment.  Areas of particular recent interest are disability-related research in neuroscience/neuroengineering and rehabilitation robotics.  Emphasis is placed on significant advancement of fundamental engineering and scientific knowledge and not on incremental improvements.  Proposals should advance discovery or innovation beyond the frontiers of current knowledge in disability-related research.  Applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Director prior to submitting a proposal.

The goal of this funding opportunity announcement is to enable the identification of the longitudinal progression of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down Syndrome using clinical, cognitive, imaging, genetic and biochemical biomarkers. 

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to stimulate interdisciplinary health-disparities research related to aging that considers the role that stress, stress response, and stress resilience play in differential health outcomes in priority health disparity populations in the U.S.In particular, this FOA seeks applications proposing to clarify pathways linking stress and aging-relevant health outcomes (e.g. mortality, cognitive impairment, multiple chronic conditions, disability, quality of life) through the investigation of links between environmental, sociocultural, behavioral, and biological factors.