URI brain researcher on transatlantic team awarded $8 million grant
William Van Nostrand, co-executive director of the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience at New England Council member, University of Rhode Island, has received an $8 million dollar grant from the Leducq Foundation for his research on the brain’s waste-clearing system as a contributor to cerebral amyloid angiopathy.
Van Nostrand is part of an international consortium studying the disorder, which causes brain bleeds and commonly occurs with Alzheimer’s disease. The team, which expects to begin research on Jan. 1, 2024, will utilize transgenic and gene-edited rodent models developed by Van Nostrand, who recently co-authored a study on the function of brain clearing to flush away toxins that can cause dementia. With the support of the Leducq Foundation, the consortium aims to advance a data-driven, multiscale understanding of perivascular brain clearance, translate experimental findings from rodent models to the human brain, and identify relevant catalysts in the process for future clinical study.
“I am grateful to the Leducq Foundation for their valuable investment in this work,” said Van Nostrand. “I believe this collaboration will lead to important breakthroughs in understanding brain clearance and reveal key insights as to why cerebral amyloid angiopathy and other dementias occur, and how we can treat and prevent them.”
The New England Council applauds Van Nostrand, and the University of Rhode Island for this achievement.
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