By 2050, approximately 16 million Americans and 60 million people worldwide will be affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related disorders (ADRD), which include Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), Parkinson’s disease, vascular dementia and frontotemporal degeneration. In Florida alone, individuals diagnosed with AD is expected to increase by 40 percent in the next 15 years. These alarming projections highlight the urgent need to employ a multifaceted and personalized approach that targets prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of dementia.
Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine and The Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. Foundation have joined forces again to usher in a new phase of research to prevent dementia. Through the extension of a three-year, $3 million grant from the Foundation’s ADRD Medical Research Fund, FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine will launch the new FAU Center for Brain Health within its FAU Medicine Primary Care Practice. The grant supports precision medicine approaches to prevent dementia, which will be further strengthened by leveraging multiple patient-centered platforms through state-of-the-art transdisciplinary approaches.
Leading the initiative is Janet Robishaw, Ph.D., a renowned scientist in functional and translational genomics, senior associate dean for research and chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences in FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine, and a member of the FAU Brain Institute (I-BRAIN). Robishaw has been working at the forefront of precision medicine for more than a decade. She will oversee the new FAU Center for Brain Health research team to leverage resources and collaborations to increase research, shorten the time for meaningful study results and enhance research impact by including multiple sites and diverse patient populations.
Funding from The Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. Foundation grant will enable Robishaw to secure research equipment, key personnel, and other related costs necessary to ensure the successful launch of the new FAU Center for Brain Health. The project will utilize precision-medicine approaches to characterize individuals with ADRD with the goal of stratifying and developing individualized treatment plans. The funding will also support the recruitment of a leading clinician scientist with expertise in personalized approaches to preventing and treating the full spectrum of dementias. This individual will work collaboratively with Robishaw and other FAU scientists who are dedicated to research in this field.
Robishaw and the FAU Center for Brain Health team will continue to support, share, and disseminate new knowledge to communities and beyond by administering pilot grants, hosting national meetings, and developing state-of-the-art curricular materials. FAU and its team of funded researchers in ADRD will continue to serve as a vital hub for advancing science and education in the prevention and treatment of dementia.
