Emory University has renamed its Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center the Goizueta Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in recognition of The Goizueta Foundation’s ongoing support for transformational research toward developing treatment for the disease, according to a press release.
In May 2018, The Goizueta Foundation made a $25 million grant to the ADRC dedicated to the development of a Clinical Trials Unit and to support the Neuroinflammation Discovery Unit.
In the Clinical Trials Unit, investigators will expand the testing of new drug treatments, including industry-sponsored trials.
In the Neuroinflammation Discovery Unit, Emory investigators will pursue research focused on new approaches to combat neuro-inflammation and related mechanisms that contribute to neurodegeneration and disease progression.
The Goizueta Foundation made an initial investment of $25 million in the ADRC in 2014, and a subsequent $3.9 million supplemental gift, to launch and support the Emory Healthy Aging Study and the Healthy Brain Study — both of which are ongoing and still enrolling participants.
The Healthy Aging study focuses on advancing brain health and preventing age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and investigates a wide range of shared risk factors for other conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and hypertension.
The Healthy Brain Study focuses on developing biomarkers that enable prediction of Alzheimer’s disease in middle-age individuals, even before symptoms begin.
Identifying individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s disease created an imperative for the Emory ADRC team to expand testing and conduct clinical trials that would offer hope to these individuals. “This new gift from The Goizueta Foundation will allow us to eventually offer therapies to affected individuals with the key goals to either delay development of Alzheimer’s or halt it altogether,” says Dr. Allan Levey, the center’s director.
Based on recent research discoveries, Emory investigators expect to soon have several promising biomarker candidates that can pinpoint the development of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms a decade or more before the onset of cognitive decline and memory loss, not only allowing for earlier detection but also making it possible to create fundamental changes in the treatment of this debilitating disease.
The Goizueta Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center is part of the Emory Brain Health Center and is one of 32 Alzheimer’s disease research centers nationally, and one of only a few in the Southeast, that are supported by the National Institutes of Health. This network of Alzheimer’s disease research centers is working collaboratively to find a treatment for the disease by 2025.
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