The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation has announced the latest recipients of grants awarded through its Diagnostics Accelerator (DxA) initiative, including the first for digital biomarker research.
Launched in 2018, DxA is focused on accelerating the development of biomarkers to aid in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and related dementias and advancing the clinical development of more targeted treatments for the disease. The awards include a grant of up to $1.3 million to Cogstate Ltd., where researcher Chris Edgar is leading a team developing a technology-based approach to the early detection of memory impairment and decline; a grant of $320,000 to Rockefeller University in support of a team led by Sidney Strickland and Erin H. Norris working to develop a blood test that identifies patients with vascular and inflammatory abnormalities that can contribute to the pathology of Alzheimer’s; and a grant of $500,000 to Hebrew University, where Yuval Dor is refining a test that detects levels of a brain-specific DNA released into the bloodstream when brain cells die.
The foundation also announced a partnership with Sage Bionetworks aimed at developing an online repository for open data sharing among digital biomarker researchers who have received Diagnostics Accelerator awards.
“Technology advances are giving us new opportunities to develop digital biomarkers — wearable and other personal devices collect data directly from patients, and their caregivers and families, and cloud computing can collect, collate, and analyze this data like never before,” said Howard Fillit, founding executive director and chief science officer at the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. “That’s why we are so enthusiastic about today’s announcements and are looking forward to announcing more digital biomarker awards in the near future.”