Indiana University has received a nearly $17 million federal grant to launch what will be one of only two centers in the United States dedicated to developing stem-cell-based models of the human brain to better understand Alzheimer’s disease.
The five-year, $16.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging will fund a new research center, known as Microphysiological Systems to Advance Precision Medicine for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, or MAP-AD.
The university said in a news release that researchers from the IU School of Medicine and the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering are leading the center, which draws upon the school of medicine’s comprehensive Alzheimer’s disease research program.
The center will develop brain organoids, three-dimensional cellular models derived from human cells, to study various characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, the university said. For years, many potential treatments that showed promise in the laboratory using animal models failed in clinical trials. Brain organoids are expected to better represent the complexities of the human brain.
“There’s a strong potential that we’ll identify new, exciting areas of investigation using stem cell models that focus more on human-specific cellular changes in Alzheimer’s disease,” Jason Meyer, professor of medical and molecular genetics at IU, said. “I think this has a potential to be very impactful for the Alzheimer’s research community.”
Center researchers also will lead studies and partner with the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute to accelerate drug discovery and development, according to IU.
Meyer co-leads the effort with a team of other IU researchers in various fields, including anatomy, cell biology, physiology, neurology, biostatistics, and intelligent systems engineering.
Meyer’s lab will focus on better understanding a gene mutation associated with Alzheimer’s disease that was identified by IU researchers in 2023. His team will operate out of IU’s new $230 million, 11-story medical education and research building in Indianapolis.
IU Alzheimer’s disease research professor Donna Wilcock said the new center is a further boost to the university’s efforts to fight the disease that is projected to affect nearly 13 million Americans by 2050.
“By adding this new center, which will develop next-generation disease-relevant models … we will be able to truly take our work from bench to bedside here at IU,” Wilcock said. “We are fortunate to have such amazing scientists who all work together to build these programs that make IU a leader in dementia research.”
The other organization receiving funding is Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.