2012 Neurodegenerative Disease Pilot Study Grant Program
The MGH Neurology Clinical Trials Unit, Massachusetts ADRC, and Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center joined forces to fund the best novel ideas for innovative pilot projects aimed at understanding and developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. Forty four applications were received by the November 18th deadline. Applications were judged on the basis of scientific merit, novelty and the value of the project in obtaining preliminary data that could lead to sponsored research (investigator-initiated R01 research grants, career development awards, industry or foundation support).
We are pleased to announce the following 11 proposals selected for funding by the review committee.
2012 Pilot Studies
Katherina Cosker (DFCI) — A role for Bclw in neurotrophin-dependent prevention of axonal degeneration
Brian Wainger (CHB) — Electrophysiological characterization of ALS patient-derived motor neurons
Jacob Hooker (MGH) — Combined FDG-PET and MRI in early ALS
David Livingstone (DFCI) — Is excessive R loop-driven DNA damage a component of ALS pathogenesis?
Teresia Osborn (McL) — Preclinical studies of guanine deaminase as a protector of ALS-related motor neuron death
Shaomin Li (BWH) — Enriched environment prevents AB-impaired LTP viathe B-adrenoceptor signaling pathway
Gabriel Corfas (CHB) — Exploring the links between AD and ErbB4 nuclear signaling
Elizabeth Bradshaw (BWH) — Functional significance of CD33 surface density and its implications for AD susceptibility
Christopher William (MGH) — Synaptic plasticity in Down Syndrome
Tim Bartels (BWH) — Impact of N-terminal acetylation on folding and lipid interaction of alpha-synuclein
Robert Ellis (BIDMC) — Neural mechanisms of motor timing in PD
2011 Pilot Studies
Of the 40 applications received, the review committee selected the following six winners:
Min Liu (BWH) — Understanding the Mechanism of Regulating LRRK2 Functions
Pamela McLean (MGH) — Alpha-Synuclein in Exosomes from Human CSF and Brain in Parkinson's
Nazem Atassi (MGH) — Mechanism-Based Neuroimaging in ALS
Tracy Young-Pearse (BWH) — Patient-derived iPSCs to Address Mechanisms of Alzheimers Disease
Joshua Shulman (BWH) — Functional Validation of Alzheimer's Genome-wide Association Signals
John Becker (MGH) — Longitudinal Modeling of Dynamic Biomarkers of the AD Pathologic Cascade
2010 Pilot Studies
Ciprian Catana (MGH) — Identification of Potential Compensatory Mechanisms in Alzheimer's Disease by Accurate Structure-Function Inter-Relation Using Simultaneous MR-PET Technology
M. Teresa Gomez-Isla (MGH) — Are Some Human Brains Able to Tolerate the Insult of Aß?
Min Jeong Kye (CHB) — Exploring the Role of SMN in miRNA in Axons
Catherine Stamoulis (BIDMC) — Detection of Copy Number Changes in DNA of Patients with Sporadic ALS
Jaehong Suh (MGH) — Transgenic Mouse Study of Novel ADAM10 Mutations in Alzheimer's Disease
Martin Can Zhang (MGH) — Characterizing a Novel AD GWAS Gene: ATXN1
2009 Pilot Studies
Of the 29 applications received, the review committee selected the following seven winners:
Sydney S. Cash (MGH) — Subclinical Paroxysmal EEG Abnormalities in Alzheimer’s Disease
David Greer (MGH) — Effect of Cerebral Hypoperfusion on B-Amyloid Deposition
Guo-Fu Hu (HMS) — Stress-Induced Small RNAs in Neuron Survival
Nikolaus McFarland (MGH) — Examination of Brain Urate Metabolites in Neurodegenerative Disease
Scott McGinnis (MGH) — Application of Ultrahigh Resolution MRI to Develop Imaging Biomarkers in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration
Jacob Sloane (BIDMC) — Identifying Proteins Associated with Impaired Remyelination and with Cortical Lesions in Multiple Sclerosis
Ottavio Vitolo (HMS) — Memory Network Dysfunction in Patients with Late Life Depression
Spring — 2008
Mark Albers (MGH) — Is the map of axon projections from human olfactory sensory neurons into the olfactory bulb disrupted in AD patients?
Paola Arlotta (MGH) — Induction of corticospinal motor neuron specifications by cell-autonomous transcription factor signaling
Susan Cotman (MGH) — Investigating accumulation of themitochondrial atpase subunit c protein as a marker for autophagydysfunction in neurodegenerative disease
Stefanie Freeman (MGH) - Pathologic phenotypes of Alzheimer's disease
Sang-Jun Jeon (MEEI) - Small molecules for regeneration of hair cells
Volney Sheen (BIDMC) — Mitochondrial dysfunction from astroglial S100B in human DS neural progenitors
Kai Sonntag (McLean) — Regulation of gene expression in dopamine neurons by miRNAs
Anand Viswanathan (MGH) — Cortical morphological consequences of subcortical vascular pathology in cerebral amyloid angiopathy
Spring — 2007
Christopher Gibbons (Roy Freeman) (BIDMC) — A human model of autonomic nerve fiber degeneration and regeneration
Steven Hersch (MGH) — Surrogate marker of therapeutic response in Huntington’s disease
Fuxin Shi (Albert Edge) (MEEI) — Replacement of auditory neurons to enhance the function of a cochlear implan
Olivia Okereke (Deborah Blacker) (MGH) — Pilot study for development of a shortened clinical dementia rating questionnaire
Daniel Press (BIDMC) — Genotype-phenotype relations underlying cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease
Eric Smith (MGH) — Pittsburgh compound-B imaging and subcortical small vessel damage
Spring — 2006
Brandon Ally (BWH) — P50 as a measure of cholinergic response in Alzheimer's disease
Phil de Jager (BWH) — Developing an immunoprofile into a diagnostic tool for multiple sclerosis
Allitia DiBernardo (MGH) — Open-label, dose-escalating clinical trial of high-dose creatine in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Florian Eichler (MGH) — Immunomodulatory therapy in X-linked adrenolukodystrophy
Stephen Gomperts (MGH) — Alpha-synuclein measurement and molecular imaging in Parkinson's disease dementia
Christopher Holland (BWH) — Evaluating continuous arterial spinlabeling in the investigation of the role of perfusion in the evolutionand repair of white matter lesions in multiple sclerosis
Lisa Krivickas (Spaulding) — Motor unit behavior in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Spring — 2005
James Beck, MD, PhD (Mass Mental Health Hospital) — Neuregulin 1 and Schizophrenia Phenotype
Joan Camprodon, MD (BIDMC) — Stroke Repair and NeglectRecovery: An fMRI Study Assessing Physiopathologic Mechanisms and TMSApplications for Rehabilitation Therapy
Michael Irizarry, MD (MGH) — High Dose Multivitamin Treatment: Effect on Plasma A-Beta and White Matter Lesions in the VISP study
Rachel Nardin, MD (BIDMC) — Diaphragm Training in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
David Wolk, MD (BWH) — ERP Correlates of Encoding and Retrieval in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease
Spring — 2004
Paolo Bonato, PhD (Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital) — Enhancing DBS parameter adjustment through measures of motor response
Andrew Budson, MD (BWH) — Using false recognition as an outcome measure for clinical trials
Gregory Esper, MD (BIDMC) — Assessment of neuromuscular disease using multifrequency-dependent electrical impedance myography
Dominik Meier, PhD (BWH) — Capturing short term disease activity in MS
Magdy Selim, MD, PhD (BIDMC) — A pilot study to evaluate the safety and tolerability of iron chelator, deferoxamine, in elderly stroke patients
2012 Neurodegenerative Disease Pilot Study Co-chairs
Adrian Ivinson (HNDC)
Brad Hyman (MGH)
Merit Cudkowicz (MGH)
2012 Neurodegenerative Disease Pilot Study Review Committee
Corinne Augelli-Szafran (BWH)
Deborah Blacker (MGH)
John Growdon (MGH)
Lawrence Hayward (UMASS)
Mel Feany (BWH)
Philip De Jager (BWH)
Rebecca Betensky (HSPH)
Robert Brown (UMASS)
2008-2012 Applications by Primary Affiliation of Applicant
2008-2012 Applications by Target Disease
2008-2012 Winners by Primary Affiliation of Applicant
2008-2012 Winners by Target Disease



