Zachary And Elizabeth M Fisher Center For Alzheimers Research Fdn

TO FUND RESEARCH INTO THE CAUSE, CARE, AND CURE OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AT THE ZACHARY AND ELIZABETH M. FISHER CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AT THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY IN NEW YORK THAT WAS UNDER THE DIRECTION OF NOBEL LAUREATE DR. PAUL GREENGARD WHOSE FINDINGS HAVE BEEN THE BASIS FOR MUCH OF TODAY'S ALZHEIMER'S INVESTIGATIONS.

THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY FISHER CENTER FOR ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH LAB:A MAJORITY OF OUR GRANT FUNDING GOES TO THE ZACHARY AND ELIZABETH M. FISHER CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (THE FISHER CENTER LAB) AT THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY IN NEW YORK, FOR NEUROLOGICAL RESEARCH INTO THE CAUSE(S) OF ALZHEIMER'S AND POTENTIAL NEW PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT OPTIONS. IN 2021, THE LAB IS UNDER THE INTERIM DIRECTION OF DR. MARC FLAJOLET, WHO WAS A CLOSE COLLABORATOR OF DR. PAUL GREENGARD. THE FISHER CENTER PROVIDES SCIENTISTS WITH A STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY IN WHICH TO CONDUCT RESEARCH ON UNDERSTANDING THE DISEASE, AND CONTINUES TO BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF ONE DAY FINDING A CURE. DURING THE CALENDAR YEAR, RESEARCHERS MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN FIVE DIFFERENT AREAS: 1) THE MAIN PART OF A PROJECT ON THE SELECTIVE VULNERABILITY OF CERTAIN NEURON TYPES, WHICH DIE VERY EARLY IN THE DISEASE, WAS PUBLISHED AS REPORTED. THIS WORK WILL CONTINUE THIS YEAR; 2) GREAT PROGRESS WAS MADE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAB'S DRUG DISCOVERY PLATFORM USING DEL (DNA-ENCODED LIBRARY) TECHNOLOGY, ALONG WITH A PUBLISHED REVIEW IN THE JOURNAL TRENDS IN PHARMACOLOGICAL SCIENCES; 3) A NOVEL STUDY WAS PUBLISHED ON THE GAMMA-SECRETASE REGULATOR GSAP IN COLLABORATION WITH THE MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING INSTITUTE, WHICH FOLLOWS UP ON ONE OF THE PROJECTS INITIATED BY THE FISHER CENTER LAB; 4) SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS WAS MADE ON OUR DRUG DISCOVERY APPROACH TO IDENTIFY USING DEL DRUG-LIKE COMPOUNDS BINDING TO VARIOUS TYPES OF TAU AGGREGATES; AND 5) WORK WAS COMPLETED ON NON-NEURONAL CELLS DESCRIBING HOW GENES LINKED WITH ALZHEIMER'S, LIKE PS1, COULD AFFECT MICROGLIA ACTIVATION.

THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY GREENGARD PROFESSORSHIP IN NEUROSCIENCE:THE ORGANIZATION PROVIDED FUNDING FOR THE PAUL GREENGARD PROFESSORSHIP IN NEUROSCIENCE AT ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY IN HONOR OF THE LATE NOBEL LAUREATE AND HIS 35 YEAR TENURE WITH THE UNIVERSITY.

THE FISHER CENTER FOUNDATION INFORMATION PROGRAM:OUR INFORMATION PROGRAM PROMOTES DISEASE AWARENESS, EDUCATION AND RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER'S, THEIR FAMILY, FRIENDS AND CAREGIVERS. INFORMATION IS DISPERSED THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS, ELECTRONIC AND PHYSICAL MAILINGS, AND THE INTERNET. OUR WEBSITE, ALZINFO.ORG, IS UPDATED REGULARLY TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE DATA ABOUT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, RECENT RESEARCH STUDIES AND FINDINGS, TREATMENT, AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT. THE SITE HAS OVER 434,000 UNIQUE VISITORS A YEAR. OUR MAGAZINE, PRESERVING YOUR MEMORY, CIRCULATES OVER 50,000 COPIES PER ISSUE AND CONTINUES TO WIN AWARDS BASED ON ITS EDITORIAL CONTENT AS IT ADDRESSES READERS' CONCERNS OVER DIAGNOSIS AND PROGRESSION OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. OUR FREE BI-WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER, ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH NEWS YOU CAN USE, CONTINUES TO BE THE MOST REVIEWED ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA NEWSLETTER ON THE INTERNET WITH OVER 10,000 SUBSCRIBERS. OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE CONTINUES TO GROW, DRIVING FOLLOWERS TO OUR WEBSITE TO SEEK OUT OTHER INFORMATION PROGRAM MATERIALS.

A GRANT WAS GIVEN TO A EUROPEAN CENTER OF RESEARCH, CARE AND EDUCATION ON GENETIC DISEASES TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER STRUCTURE OF AMYLOID PROTEINS ARE CHANGED PARTICULARLY IF PROTEINS AGGREGATES, WHICH ARE TOXIC FOR SYNAPSES, ARE DECREASED. IN THIS HYPOTHESIS, MASITINIB MAY DECREASE PROTEASE RELEASE BY MAST CELLS, WHICH MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR GENERATION OF PROTEINS AGGREGATE, AND TEST WHETHER MASITINIB IS ABLE TO BLOCK LESIONS SPREADING AFTER PRIONS LIKE PROTEINS INOCULATION. THIS PROJECT WILL REVEAL ROLE OF MAST CELL AND KINASES IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF ALZHEIMER DISEASE. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF ITS MECHANISMS MAY DEFINE THE BEST STRATEGY TO IMPROVE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE.