Research Funding Announcement - Pilot Grant Program in Alzheimer’s Disease Research
The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) announces the availability of funds to support pilot/feasibility studies targeting research in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related disorders. The major objective of this program is to enhance novel AD-related research throughout the UW campus, and generate pilot data for larger peer-reviewed grants. Geriatric-focused applications are encouraged.
Proposals may target any aspect of AD research including, but not limited to
- Preclinical disease biomarkers
- Diagnostic and prognostic indicators
- Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
- Normal aging research relevant or applicable to AD diagnostics, treatment, etc.
- Disease risk factors
- Molecular neurobiology of the disease
- Neuroimaging in preclinical and afflicted subjects
- Clinical manifestations
- Treatments (either behavioral or pharmacological interventions)
- Caregiver stress
- Health services research
- End-of-life care, and
- Behavioral and social aspects of the disease
Investigators at all levels are invited to apply; however, preference will be given to junior faculty and senior fellows wishing to pursue an academic career in dementia research. If necessary, applicants can utilize the extensive infrastructure and resources of Wisconsin ADRC in the preparation of their proposal.
Additional Guidelines:
- PI must have a UW or VA appointment
- Trainee applicants must identify a PI with a UW or VA appointment
- Previous pilot grant awardees are ineligible regardless of content, if the previous award is still active
- Funds can be requested for up to 1 year
- Total budget should not exceed $30,000
- Indirect costs will not be supported
Application Procedures and Deadlines:
Preliminary Application indicating the focus of your research (will be used to aid us in identifying our reviewers ahead of time) Due 4PM October 14th 2011. Details provided by reading the Full Application link.
Preliminary Application/Letter of Intent >>>>
Full Application must be submitted in an electronic format, no later than 4PM November 23rd, 2011. Use the full application link below.
If you have questions, please contact Courtney McKeown at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 608-263-2582. For successful applications, funding will start on April 1, 2012.
Click Here for Full Application>>>>
Pilot Project 2010
The Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center commends the following 2010 award recipients for pilot research studies in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related illnesses:
- Sean Fain - Proposal to develop in vivo marker of brain metabolism, i.e. hyperpolarized 1-13C-pyruvate, using a mouse model
- Michael Gitcho - Proposal to clarify role of overexpression of a tau-like protein, TDP-43 in AD pathology, using mouse model and brain tissue
- Uzma Zakai - Proposal to derive and test drug-delivery potential of a modified N-acetyl-L cysteine molecule, which is a known antioxidant agent
Pilot Project 2009
In 2009, three researchers were awarded Pilot Study Grants by the Wisconsin Comprehensive Memory Program to conduct studies related to memory and cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).
Congratulations to the following awardees of the pilot grant:
- Gururaj Joshi, PhD & Jeff Johnson, PhD, "Role of Nrf2 in mouse models of Alzheimer's disorders"
- Corinne Engelman, MSPH, PhD, "Genetic architecture of Alzheimer's-related functional and structural brain aging"
- Georgia Malandraki, PhD, "Effects of sensory stimulation on neural activity and swallowing performance in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease"
Pilot Project 2008
The Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center commends the following 2008 award recipients for pilot research studies in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related illnesses:
- Barbara B. Bendlin, PhD for her project entitled "Early Detection of White Matter Degeneration in People at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease: Relationship to Vascular Risk and Memory Function"
- Bradley Christian, PhD for his project entitled "PET Imaging the 5-HT1A System in MCI and AD"
- Onofre T. DeJesus, PhD for his project entitled "PET Imaging Markers For Tau Protein"
- Carey Gleason, PhD for her project entitled "A Mechanistic Examination of Falls Occurring in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease"
- Bruce Hermann, PhD for his project entitled "Cognitive aging in chronic epilepsy"
- Luigi Puglielli, MD PhD for his project entitled "An aging pathway controls Alzheimer's disease neuropathology"
- Vikas Singh, PhD for his project entitled "Methods and tools for image based AD classification with evaluations on the ADNI dataset"
- Joshua M. Thorpe, PhD, MPH for his project entitled "Barriers to Medical Care and Medication Adherence in Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders"
- Whitney Wharton, PhD for her project entitled "The Effect of Centrally Acting Antihypertensives on Individuals at Risk for Alzheimer's disease"
Pilot Project 2006
The Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center commends the following 2006 award recipients for pilot research studies in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related illnesses:
- Cynthia Carlsson, MD, MS for her project entitled "Impact of Atorvastatin on Cerebral Perfusion and Endothelial Function"
- Timothy Juergens, MD for his project "Autonomic dysfunction in subjects at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease"
- Ronald Kalil, PhD for his project "Nestin positive neurons in the cholinergic basal forebrain and related areas"
- James Malter, MD for his project "Characterization of a novel mouse model for the study of neurological diseases"
- Michele Ries, PhD for her project "Posterior cingulate connectivity in individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease"
- JoAnne Robbins, PhD and Ianessa Humbert, PhD for their project "Swallowing physiology and Neurophysiology in Alzheimer's disease and Lewy Body Disease"
- Randal Tibbits, PhD for his project entitled "Functional dissection of ATM-CREB signaling pathway in the nervous system"
- Jerry Yin, PhD for his project "CREB-responsive transcription of APP"
Thank you to everyone who submitted an application. If you have questions about the application or award process, please contact Tamara Markgraf, MBA at (608) 256-1901, ext. 12923 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
