Two researchers looking at brain imaging on computer monitors

Developmental projects

The Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center provides developmental projects awards of $50,000 to $100,000 of direct funds a year for project terms of 1 to 3 years. The funding mechanism gives junior investigators opportunities to develop projects and generate preliminary data. This work makes the awardees stronger candidates for independent research support from extramural funding agencies in the future.

Current developmental projects

  • Clinical trajectories and outcomes of evolving probable rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder
  • Stuart J. McCarter, M.D.
  • Impact of cerebellar TMEM106B and TDP-43 dysfunction in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43-immunoreactive pathology
  • Sarah R. Pickles, Ph.D.
  • Innate immune-mediated mechanisms of cerebrovascular dysfunction in cognitive aging and vascular dementia
  • Aivi T. Nguyen, M.D.
  • Investigating associations between sleep-related autonomic and oxygenation profiles with Alzheimer's disease, cerebrovascular biomarkers and cognitive function
  • Diego Zaquera Carvalho, M.D., M.S.
  • Investigating proteomic and genetic drivers associated with the coarse-grained plaque
  • Baayla D C Boon, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Longitudinal trajectories of microstructural changes in the Lewy body dementia spectrum: Identifying diffusion MRI biomarkers for biologic staging and drug development
  • Elijah Mak, Ph.D.

Recently completed developmental projects

  • Common and distinct effects of APOE on alpha-synuclein pathology in Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia
  • Na Zhao, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Fully automated machine-learning algorithm for generating clinical interpretations of fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography images
  • David T. Jones, M.D.
  • Functional study of p.T185S mutation in TMEM106B, the major risk factor for GRN-related frontotemporal dementia
  • Xiaolai Zhou, Ph.D.
  • Manipulate meningeal lymphatic function to alleviate brain amyloidosis and neuroinflammation instigated by APOE4
  • Sandro Da Mesquita, Ph.D.
  • Single-cell-nucleus transcriptional signatures underlying Alzheimer's disease pathology
  • John D. Fryer, Ph.D.