$3 Million NIH Grant to Support Alzheimer’s Disease Research

Researchers at the Beckmann Institute for Advanced Science and Technology will use a unique combination of imaging techniques to study Alzheimer’s disease on an unprecedented scale.

Chemistry professor Jonathan Swiedler and bioengineering professor Huang Lam collaborated on a five-year project to combine magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry imaging to capture a wide range of images in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. increase. Their research was supported by his $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging.

One overarching goal is to understand what happens at the molecular level in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease as a function of age and disease stage.

Although there is a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease, many people do not develop Alzheimer’s disease. , there is growing evidence that it may suggest that someone is developing Alzheimer’s disease decades before it is functionally observable.”

Jonathan Sweedler, Professor of Chemistry

Alzheimer’s disease has been extensively studied, but its complex causes and genetic effects remain unknown. For this reason, researchers are looking for factors that may have been missed. They want to know the chemical differences between normal aging brains and aging brains that are prone to Alzheimer’s disease.

“There is some evidence that some populations of neurons are particularly vulnerable, and we want to know why,” Sweedler said. “Knowing that a particular population of neurons is dying is one thing, but if we can chemically understand what’s changing, others can design interventions to prevent it.”

To obtain extensive chemical information on mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease-affected brains, the duo use a unique combination of MRI and MSI imaging techniques.

“Most imaging approaches require you to know what you’re looking at,” says Sweedler. “You pick a molecule and ask, ‘Where is it, how much is it, what is its exact chemical form?’ We’re doing it at unprecedented spatial scales, from imaging single cells to whole brains.”

Hundreds or thousands of molecules can be mapped as MSI sampled tissue is extracted. This detailed chemical information allows researchers to make fewer assumptions about disease and advance a more unbiased approach.

MRI is completely non-invasive and provides a whole-brain reference to reconstruct and reveal the unique spatial organization of molecules in different stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Combining the two techniques allows you to take advantage of the best of both imaging modalities.

“If we can build links between the information provided by MSI at the biochemical level and the macroscopic changes observable on MRI, it may provide a basis for interpreting MRI at the molecular level,” Lam said. says. “By imagining a person and looking at something, we may be able to infer what is going on underneath.”

Researchers initially connected through graduate student Yuxuan Richard Xie were encouraged to collaborate by the Beckman Institute.

“We can always talk about big ideas, but we really need good students to act as bridges between different groups to make things happen,” Lam said.

Lamb and Swiedler are also excited to work with Orry Lazaroff, professor of anatomy and cell biology at the University of Illinois at the Medical School of Chicago.

“We look forward to continuing to work with other Beckman collaborators to advance this direction and pursue other long-term research goals beyond the deadline of this grant,” said Lamb. said. “The grant will end, but our cooperation will continue.”