Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation and Harrington Discovery Institute Center for Brain Health Medicines Invite Proposals for 2024 ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award

April 1, 2024 CLEVELAND, Ohio and NEW YORK, New York – Harrington Discovery Institute Center for Brain Health Medicines at University Hospitals and the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announce a joint request for proposals for the 2024 ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award. The ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award is designed to accelerate the translation of innovative research that could treat, prevent, slow, or reverse Alzheimer's disease or related dementias. 

The Request for Proposals (RFP) is open to academic investigators at accredited medical centers, research institutions, and universities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Researchers working on drug development programs that are relevant to, but not presently focused on, the Alzheimer’s field are strongly encouraged to apply. 

This award provides a combination of financial support and expert drug development guidance. Award recipients will receive financial support up to $600,000 over two years, dedicated drug development and project management support, and an opportunity to qualify for investment funds. 

The 2024 ADDF-Harrington Scholar RFP places high priority on targets related to emerging therapeutic areas for dementia, particularly:

• Proteostasis (including autophagy, lysosomal biogenesis, proteasomal degradation, post-translational modification associated with proteostasis, protein folding/misfolding, ER stress, extracellular clearance)
• Senescence (including cells that have halted division, shifted towards a secretory phenotype, altered morphology and epigenetics, and decreased apoptosis)

Other novel targets are encouraged. These include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Epigenetics
• Vascular pathology
• Neuroprotection
• Synaptic activity and neurotransmitters
• Inflammation
• Mitochondrial health
• Antioxidant defense
• Metabolic function and brain energy
• Brain insulin resistance
• APOE
• Glymphatic clearance
• Postnatal neurogenesis
• Other aging targets

Letters of Intent (LOI) must be submitted online here and will be accepted through June 3, 2024 at 5:00 pm EDT. We encourage an interactive application process in efforts to solicit the best applications. Scientific inquiries can be directed to either:

Andrew A. Pieper, MD, PhD
Director, Center for Brain Health Medicines
Harrington Discovery Institute
Andrew.Pieper@HarringtonDiscovery.org  

or 

Meriel Owen, PhD
Director, Search and Evaluation
Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
mowen@alzdiscovery.org