Cure Alzheimer's Fund

Mission statement

The organization’s mission is “to fund research with the highest probability of preventing, slowing or reversing Alzheimer's disease through venture based philanthropy.”

History and background

Cure Alzheimer’s Fund was founded in 2004 by Jeffrey Morby, Jacqui Morby, Henry McCance, and Phyllis Rappaport as a way to fund Alzheimer's disease research. Following principles of venture philanthropy, the organization attempts to identify high-risk, high-reward studies that require seed money in order to gather the data needed to qualify for a large grant, such as one from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The founders are still involved in managing the fund, and continue to cover all of its operating costs. They employ a small staff to run the Wellesley Hills office. As of the end of 2013, Cure Alzheimer's Fund had funded 77 projects and distributed a total of approximately $22.8 million in grants.

Symposium

Cure Alzheimer's Fund hosts an annual fall symposium in which funded researchers present their recent work. The event is free and open to the public. Recent presenters include Rudy Tanzi, Ph.D., Sam Gandy, M.D., Ph.D., and Steven Wagner, Ph.D.

Alzstream™

Alzstream™ is a livestreamed webinar series, presented every quarter. The Alzstream webinars focus on discussing Alzheimer's research discoveries, progress, and new theories regarding Alzheimer's disease, featuring many members of the Research Consortium and others.

Funded research programs

Cure Alzheimer’s Fund’s research objective is to support studies that will bring forward a further understanding of Alzheimer's disease and/or a development of treatment.

All projects are based upon Cure Alzheimer’s roadmap of discovery, developed by the Research Consortium. Projects are then approved by the Scientific Advisory Board (hyperlinked) and the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. This roadmap includes four steps needed to develop effective therapies: foundational genetics, translational research, drug discovery, and drug development.

Alzheimer's Genome Project

The Alzheimer’s Genome Project™ (AGP) is one of CAF’s longest continued projects, with approximately $9,041,400 in funding from 2005 to 2013 for research directed by Rudolph Tanzi, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Its objective is to evaluate new Alzheimer's disease gene candidates for effects on Alzheimer’s pathology and related biological pathways. Phase I of the AGP focused on identifying all genes that contribute significant risk for Alzheimer's disease, thereby identifying more targets for the development of therapeutic interventions. Phase I was completed in 2008, with the identification of the novel Alzheimer’s genes ADAM10, ATXN1, and CD33. Phase II of the AGP entails the functional analysis of these genes.

Phase III of the AGP focuses on the processing and sequencing of the complete genomes, then identifying all DNA variants in the genome that directly influence risk of Alzheimer's disease. From there, all of the biologically relevant genomes that may cause Alzheimer’s can be identified and targeted for the development of therapeutic treatments. The Alzheimer’s Genome Project was the largest single disease scan of all time and was considered one of the top ten medical breakthroughs in the world in 2008 by Time Magazine.