The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) announced today a new grant program that will support collaboration among young scientists from different scientific disciplines, to help tackle some of the most vexing questions about Alzheimer's disease. Known as The Collaborative Research Awards Program in Alzheimer's Disease, the new initiative is supported by The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation and the Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation, in partnership with AFAR, which manages the program.
"These investigators are already playing a key role in the development of new knowledge about Alzheimer's disease," said Stephanie Lederman, EdM, Executive Director, AFAR. "It is our hope that, by fostering collaboration across disciplines, we will spur creative approaches that will advance the care of those with the disease."
Grants will be given to alumni grantees of the New Investigators in Alzheimer's Disease program, who will collaborate on interdisciplinary basic and translational research projects. To date, the Program has funded 26 New Investigators in the United States and Israel. The primary goals of this program are to support important research in areas in which more scientific investigation is needed to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and to stimulate career development of junior researchers.
Martin H. Blank, Jr., COO and Co-director of The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation says "The current program has a track record of fostering extraordinary research careers in aging and Alzheimer's disease. The collaborative program will allow these talented researchers to expand into projects that extend beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries to create multidimensional, multidisciplinary, and integrative research to ultimately help those with this devastating disease."