Brightfocus Foundation

“A draft of the federal form 990 is distributed to the audit committee for review prior to being submitted to the internal revenue service. The draft federal form 990 is distributed early enough to provide each committee member with a reasonable amount of time for review and submission of questions or comments prior to the filing deadline. The final federal form 990 is distributed to each member of the full board of directors prior to being filed with the internal revenue service. The draft or final federal form 990 may be distributed in person, by regular mail, e-mail, or fax.”

“Brightfocus has all employees, officers, and directors agree to the code of conduct that includes adherence to the conflict of interest and implementation policy. Each board director, officer, and employee is required to complete a conflict of interest disclosure statement annaually. Employees meet annually with the brightfocus' chief compliance officer to review their conflict of interest statements, and give an annual conflict of interest compliance report to the board chair and vice chair. If a conflict is reported, it is then referred to the president/ceo and/or brightfocus' legal counsel and, if appropriate and necessary, then to the board of directors or its appointed committee for further action. The director's and officer's statements are reviewed by the brightfocus legal counsel. If a conflict is reported, it is then referred to the board of directors or its appointed committee for further action. At the time of the brightfocus discussion and decision concerning a conflict of interest, the conflicted party is not present in the meeting.”

“Brightfocus' board of directors has overall authority and responsibility for approving the annual budget which includes salary and benefits for all employees at every level including non-director officers and key employees. All pay adjustments are made on a yearly basis effective april 1st, the beginning of the brightfocus fiscal year. Before approving the compensation of the president/ceo, the board determines the total compensation to be provided by brightfocus to the president/ceo is reasonable in light of the position, responsibility and qualification of the position held including the result of an evaluation of prior performance for brightfocus, if applicable. The president/ceo is evaluated annually by the board of directors through the use of an in-depth goal attainment structure, (developed with advice from board source) that includes a self assessment and a board of directors assessment and evaluation against set goals, outcomes and deliverables. In addition, the board of directors periodically engages an outside consultant to obtain and consider appropriate data, including a salary survey, which includes information compiled from the federal form 990 of other organizations, concerning compensation paid to ceos in like circumstances. In making the determination, the board of directors shall consider total compensation to include the salary and value of all benefits provided by brightfocus to the individual in payment for services. At the time of the brightfocus board discussion and decision concerning the president/ceo's compensation, the president/ceo is not present in the meeting. The board shall set forth the basis for its decisions with respect to compensation in the minutes of the meeting at which the decisions are made, including the conclusions of the evaluation and the basis for determining that the individual's compensation was reasonable in light of the evaluation and comparability data. The president/ceo is charged with the setting of salaries of all other employees in accordance with a compensation structure and budget approved by the board of directors. The president/ceo and human resources review employee compensation and benefits that include key employees, by periodically engaging an outside consultant to conduct compensation and benefit benchmarking studies that include various regional and national non-profit compensation reports and surveys. Compensation deliberations and decisions include the review of self and supervisory evaluations of employee performance compared to set individual and organizational goals.”

“Brightfocus makes its governing documents including its articles of incorporation and bylaws, the federal form 1023, the 501(c)(3) letter of determination from the internal revenue service, conflict of interest policy, audited financial statements and federal form 990 available to the public upon request. In addition, the public also has access to the annual report, audited financial statements, the 501(c)(3) letter of determination from the internal revenue service, and federal form 990 on our website.”

“Brightfocus funds exceptional scientific research worldwide to defeat alzheimer's disease, macular degeneration, and glaucoma and provides expert information on these heartbreaking diseases. Our vision is: a world free from diseases of mind and sight. Collectively, 1 in 16 people over the age of 40 in the u.s. Has one of these diseases. Brightfocus has a proven track record of supporting the most innovative, early-stage research seeking better understanding, treatments, or, ultimately, a cure for these diseases. Since 1973, brightfocus has awarded more than $206 million in research grants to thousands of scientists around the world. Our research funding has led to major contributions to the understanding of these diseases and support for scientists who have received prestigious awards, including two nobel prizes. An indicator of our ability to push new boundaries of knowledge is that brightfocus-supported research was recently found to have had twice the impact on driving future science than work supported by many other organizations. The world-class research identified and supported by brightfocus is on the cutting-edge of the fight to save mind and sight. Our funding acts as a catalyst in early-stage research. The brightfocus research programs are designed to provide initial funding for highly innovative experimental ideas. Due to the structured grant review and approval process, the research impact of brightfocus is very high. Most recipients of brightfocus funding go on to receive future grants from other sources that are 10 times larger than the original brightfocus award. This one thousand percent return on brightfocus investment speaks to our ability to identify promising research in its earliest stages and spawn future scientific discoveries. It is our firm belief that having the courage to invest in innovative ideas will lead to revolutionary approaches and life-saving breakthroughs. Along with funding cutting-edge research to find cures to some of society's costliest diseases, brightfocus also provides free educational materials and support to hundreds of thousands of patients and families affected by these diseases nationwide. We base these educational materials off of the latest research findings. Brightfocus increases public awareness of alzheimer's, macular degeneration, and glaucoma, and communicates with thought leaders and elected officials about the importance of scientific research in these areas. Brightfocus' award-winning public service announcements (psa) have appeared on television, radio, and in print throughout the nation. Both make a plan today: get your eyes checked and now is the moment to stop alzheimer's disease powerfully seek to raise awareness and early detection, and similar messages have been delivered through donated print psa space in airports and train stations, as well as at pharmacies and supermarkets. In fiscal year 2019, these psa messages generated $9,487,455 in donated media services and garnered nearly 800 million impressions. Near the conclusion of fiscal year 2019, brightfocus launched a new series of television psa messages, the impact of alzheimer's. Since 2014, the brightfocus chats have brought together patients and caregivers for free, interactive monthly telephone forums to learn from, and ask questions of, leading researchers and specialists on vision diseases. The chats are archived on our web site, with audio and print transcripts available in a number of accessible formats. We continue to increase our print publications, many in spanish, that provide helpful information to patients and caregivers, and regularly unveil new video and audio resources in conjunction with allies in the medical and scientific communities. Brightfocus is a presentation partner for turning point, a new documentary on the scientists and clinical trial volunteers working to develop a new alzheimer's medication. Brightfocus is helping the film be shown in community settings across the country to in”

“Notable projects include: a focus on an international biosample and brain bank for biomarker discovery for high risk alzheimer's groups; determining risk algorithms in middle age for alzheimer's in men and women; drug discovery; biomarkers; the role of inflammation in disease risk; scientific exchanges; and better use of modern technologies, including mobile technologies and big data, to increase the speed of clinical trials and research progress. Additional information about specific projects is included in schedules f & i. Brightfocus is honored to have supported the early research of two eventual nobel prize winners: dr. Stanley prusiner and dr. Paul greengard, whose work has been instrumental to our current understanding of alzheimer's disease. Brightfocus continues its partnership with the academic journal "molecular neurodegeneration" as the official journal of the brightfocus foundation. The journal publishes technical papers related to neurodegeneration in the three disease areas. To accelerate scientific progress, it is an "open access" journal, and all content is free of charge. This open access ensures maximal reach of journal contents to scientists and care providers worldwide. Molecular neurodegeneration is currently the highest impact open access journal in the neurosciences. In addition to supporting cutting-edge research, alzheimer's disease research provides excellent resources on detecting, treating, and living with the disease. These are available in both print as well as on our website, www.brightfocus.org. Alzheimer's disease is the only cause of death among the top 10 in america without a way to prevent, cure, or even slow its progression. It is an irreversible degeneration of the brain that causes disruptions in memory, cognition, personality, and other functions and inevitably leads to death. An estimated 5.5 million americans have alzheimer's disease, about two-thirds are women.”

“In addition to supporting cutting-edge research, macular degeneration research provides excellent resources on detecting, treating, and living with this disease. These are available in both print as well as on our website, www.brightfocus.org. Age-related macular degeneration is a leading cause of vision loss in the united states. It destroys the macula, the part of the eye that provides sharp, central vision needed for seeing objects clearly. The most common eye condition in people age 60 and older, it can lead to vision loss in one or both eyes, making it difficult to recognize faces, drive a car, or read.”

“During the fiscal year ending march 31, 2019, ngr awarded $2,549,772 for 13 new projects. Details about specific projects are included in schedules f & i. In addition to supporting cutting-edge research, national glaucoma research provides excellent resources on detecting, treating, and living with the disease. These are available in both print as well as on our website, www.brightfocus.org. Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the eye's optic nerve and can result in vision loss and permanent blindness. More than 3 million americans age 40 and older have glaucoma. More than 60 million people in the world have the disease. With early detection and treatment, glaucoma often can be managed to protect eyes from more serious vision loss, but it is estimated that only half of the people living with glaucoma are aware that they have the disease.”

“Recoveries of prior year grants 208,198. Change in present value of grants 73,409.”

“Region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by marc aurel busche, md, phd, entitled: (a2019112s) in vivo cellular imaging and treatment of hippocampal dysfunction in alzheimer models. Investigator's summary: this proposal aims to identify the earliest neurobiological events underlying the development and progression of alzheimer's disease (ad). We will explore in particular the effects that tau and amyloid proteins seen in the brains of patients with ad have on the activity of interacting nerve cells in the hippocampus, a brain region which is known to be important for learning and memory. We will test an innovative therapeutic strategy and evaluate its ability to repair abnormal activities of nerve cells. These studies will not only increase our knowledge about the neurobiology of ad but also accelerate our therapeutic efforts to protect nerve cells and rescue learning and memory functions. Grant awarded: $298,861, university college london, london, united kingdom. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019112s. Region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by luca colnaghi, phd, entitled: (a2019296f) sumoylation in alzheimer's disease and dementia. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's is a disorder with no cure. One of the reasons is the complexity of the brain, the main organ affected by the disease. We are proposing to try to understand how the brain gets sick to be able to create new treatments for it. Grant awarded: $180,000, istituto di ricerche farmacologiche mario negri, milan, italy. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019296f. Region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by david berron, phd, entitled: (a2019401f) tracking the effects of amyloid and tau pathology on brain systems and cognition in early alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's disease (ad) is a tremendous burden and there are still no therapies available. Most clinical studies have focused on the late disease stages where neuronal damage is already severe and irreversible, however, to intervene in earlier stages, it is essential to understand how ad affects brain systems early in the disease. Beyond that, we need better markers to identify individuals at an early asymptomatic stage that will likely deteriorate in the coming years as well as measures of treatment response to assess the benefit of a treatment. Our findings will thus help to ease future research on early disease stages, will make it easier for clinical trials to find the right participants and thus hopefully help to ultimately find a cure for ad. Grant awarded: $193,777, lund university, malmo, sweden for more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019401f. Region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by henrietta nielsen, phd, entitled: (a2019446s) an apoe-linked plasma profile and relevance to behavior and neurodegeneration. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's disease (ad) is a disease of the brain and for which the risk is determined by a heritable factor, the apoe4. We will investigate potential effects of a specific apoe4-linked bloodborne molecule on disease-related changes inside the brain. A successful discovery of a factor that can be targeted in the blood rather than the in brain, for the cure or prevention of ad, would facilitate the development of medication to prevent the disease. Grant awarded: $300,000, stockholm university, department of neurochemistry, stockholm, sweden for more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019446s. Region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by giacomo koch, md, phd, entitled: (a2019523s) precuneus rtms: a novel therapy for mild alzheimer's disease patients. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's disease (ad) is a global health challenge. Our efforts will aim at developing an”

“Region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by camin dean, phd, entitled: (a2019586s) treating memory loss in alzheimer's disease by strengthening synapses. Investigator's summary: people with alzheimer's disease (ad) lose the ability to remember things, especially things they recently learned. We recently discovered that mice missing a specific molecule called synaptotagmin3, have better memory than normal mice. We now want to test if removing this molecule from mice with ad will improve their memory. If this works, it could be a way to treat humans with ad disease to improve their memory. Grant awarded: $300,000, european neuroscience institute, goettingen, germany. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019586s. Region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by dominik paquet, phd, entitled: (a2019604s) an ipsc-derived human brain tissue model for alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: we currently do not understand very well why the brains of alzheimer's disease (ad) patients contain aggregates of proteins and how this leads to death of millions of nerve cells over time. To better understand the formation of these disease symptoms we would like to investigate the building blocks that are required for the formation of ad pathology. For this purpose, we will turn human stem cells into nerve cells and other cell types found in the human brain, grow them together in a dish to assemble artificial human brain tissue, and introduce alterations in genes and cellular physiology that are typical for patients with inherited forms of ad. We will investigate if these models display alzheimer pathology in a dish, and then modify the composition of cell types or the function of cells and their genes to learn, which factors cause protein aggregation or nerve cell death in an ad brain. Grant awarded: $300,000, institute for stroke and dementia research, ludwig-maximilians-university, munich, germany. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019604s. Region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research conference support. Grant awarded: $98,845, the 14th international conference on alzheimer's & parkinson's diseases, lisbon, portugal. Region: east asia & pacific (d) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by zhichao wu, phd, entitled: (m2019073) enabling treatment trials of atrophic age- related macular degeneration using novel microperimetry techniques. Investigator's summary: the loss of tissue responsible for vision is a complication of the condition called age-related macular degeneration that remains untreatable. To help the discovery of new treatments, better ways of measuring whether a potential treatment is actually having a meaningful positive effect is needed. This project therefore examines whether a new method to measure the ability of to perceive different light levels within the area where tissue loss is occurring could help us better evaluate promising new treatments. Grant awarded: $187,873, centre for eye research australia, the university of melbourne, east melbourne, australia. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2019073. Region: east asia & pacific (d) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by paul baird, bsc, phd, entitled: (m2019093) risk prediction in age-related macular degeneration - can we do better. Investigator's summary: this proposal brings together different areas of medicine and biology and applies advances in high throughput computing and big data analysis to aid our understanding and advancement of treatments for the eye disease of age related macular degeneration (amd); particularly the dry form of disease where there is currently no treatment. It will identify genes that interact with each other as well as with other factors known to be involved in increased risk of amd such as age, sex of an individual an”

“Name of organization or government: tufts university - boston. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by wonhee kim, phd, entitled: (a2019021f) impact of elevated app on bace1 substrates processing. Investigator's summary: individuals with alzheimer's disease (ad) have trouble remembering even simple things, like the name of their family members. Ad is generally found in people older than 65 years of age, but some people born with genetic risk factors, such as down syndrome and gene mutations causing familial alzheimer's disease develop symptoms much earlier. Currently there is no treatment able to prevent or cure ad. Pharmaceutical companies have developed a drug, called bace inhibitor, that has the potential to prevent and cure ad. However, it is still uncertain whether this drug is safe for ad patients. Our study suggests that this medicine could cause worse side effects in people born with down syndrome or carrying a specific genetic mutation causing ad. Therefore, our goal is to better understand ad caused by genetic risk factors, and ultimately find a safe drug treatment for ad patients. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019021f. Name of organization or government: massachusetts general hospital. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by michelle farrell, phd, entitled: (a2019029f) early consequences of subthreshold amyloid for tau pathology and cognitive decline. Investigator's summary: drugs are currently being tested that aim to prevent alzheimer's disease (ad) by intervening in individuals more than a decade before clinical symptoms appear who have clear evidence of ad pathology. However, little is known about the beginning stages of ad and how the two hallmark ad pathologies (amyloid plaques and tau tangles) start to build up in the brain. The proposed project aims to use brain imaging (pet scans) in healthy older adults to visualize the earliest signs of amyloid plaques, and determine how the buildup of these amyloid plaques contributes to the appearance of tau tangles inside brain cells and subtle changes in memory and thinking. This research will provide urgently needed information about the early stages of development of ad, and help the next generation of prevention trials target individuals who are at an optimal point in the development of ad for successful intervention. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019029f. Name of organization or government: university of chicago. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by hemraj dodiya, phd, entitled: (a2019032f) microbiome influences microglia phenotypes and amyloid-beta amyloidosis in a sex-specific manner. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's disease (ad) features brain deposition of amyloid-beta protein, forming plaques, and inflammation leading to dementia. Emerging evidence suggests that men and women exhibit different gut microbiota which regulates the human immune system and influences their brain function. Series of experiments will assess the role of gender-specific microbes in regulating inflammation and amyloid-beta deposition using mouse models of ad. Knowledge gained will advance our understanding of ad susceptibility in men and women linking how different gut microbes educates immune system affecting disease course, and identify novel potential therapeutic options to treat ad in men and women separately. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019032f. Name of organization or government: mclean hospital. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by darrick balu, phd, entitled: (a2019034s) glial d-serine in the amygdala and alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: as alzheimer's disease (ad) progresses, inflammation changes the characteristics of particular cells in the brain called, astrocytes. These transformed astrocytes, which are classified as inflammatory astrocytes, rel”

“Name of organization or government: massachusetts general hospital. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by masato maesako, phd, entitled: (a2019056f) visualization of amyloid-beta production. Investigator's summary: amyloid-beta (ab) is a key player in alzheimer's disease. However, it is totally unclear which cells produce ab and where within cells this production occurs. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019056f. Name of organization or government: the university of texas southwestern medical center. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by lukasz joachimiak, phd, entitled: (a2019060s) structural determinants of tau aggregation in disease. Investigator's summary: the tau protein deposits in the brain of alzheimer's patients. The tau protein normally adopts a "good" shape and with age converts into a "bad" shape. We aim to understand how tau changes into the "bad" shape to help understand how to detect this in patients and develop therapies to prevent it. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019060s. Name of organization or government: emory university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by nicholas varvel, phd, entitled: (a2019077s) seizures promote alzheimer's disease pathology via monocytes. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's disease (ad) is and will continue to be a major health problem in the coming decades. In addition to memory loss, a certain subset of those with alzheimer's disease also suffer from seizures. We have recently identified a immune cell type, called a monocyte, that enters the brain after seizures. The studies are designed to determine seizure-induced monocyte entry into the brain enhances the progression of ad. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019077s. Name of organization or government: houston methodist research institute. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by alireza faridar, md, entitled: (a2019083f) characterizing adaptive immune mechanism in alzheimer's: a key to therapy. Investigator's summary: systemic inflammation might plays a critical role in the onset and progression of alzheimer disease (ad). Regulatory t cells (tregs) are the major immunomodulatory cell in the blood that might lose their function in ad. For the first time in ad, dysfunctional ad tregs will be expanded in culture dish to restore their suppressive function and the impact of these expanded/normalized tregs will be evaluated on ad pathology. This project could form the rational to apply regulatory t cell expansion as a novel therapeutic approach in ad patients. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019083f. Name of organization or government: hudson alpha institute for biotechnology. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by nick cochran, phd, entitled: (a2019129f) mechanisms of mapt regulation. Investigator's summary: we would like to find out how an important gene for alzheimer's disease (ad) called mapt is turned on in neurons, the cells in your brain that control your thinking. This important gene mapt is the instruction set for a protein called tau. Tau causes problems in alzheimer's disease, and scientists think that reducing tau might be helpful as a treatment. If we can figure out how mapt is turned on in neurons, it might help us know how we could turn it off, which would reduce tau and might help people with ad. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019129f.”

“Name of organization or government: regents of the university of michigan. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by matthias truttmann, phd, entitled: (a2019157s) the impact and mechanistic basis of chaperone ampylation in the development and progression of alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: proteins are small particles that enable us to think and store memories. As we get older, these proteins become less and less stable and will occasionally engage in the formation of protein clumps within cells. Some of these protein clumps are very toxic to neurons and will damage our brains, thus triggering neurodegenerative diseases such as alzheimer's disease. We aim to better understand the processes that prevent the formation of such protein clumps and seek to learn why these processes become less efficient in the older population. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019157s. Name of organization or government: massachusetts general hospital. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by becky carlyle, phd, entitled: (a2019182s) integrated multimodal *omics of neuropeptide proteoforms to assess their suitability as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's disease (ad) is a complicated disease with no effective treatment yet available. Ad is currently defined by the abundance of two insoluble proteins, amyloid-beta and tau, but the amount of these proteins does not accurately predict cognitive problems in people with ad. Recent studies have found that neuropeptides, a group of secreted proteins that can be cut down into many different, shorter peptides, are widely dysregulated in ad, and might play roles in the ad disease process. In this proposal we investigate whether neuropeptides may be used to more accurately assess ad patients, and whether supplementation with these peptides might eventually prove a new potential therapy for ad. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019182s. Name of organization or government: university of southern california. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by zhen zhao, phd, entitled: (a2019218s) understanding the cerebrovascular link between traumatic brain injury and alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: traumatic brain injury (tbi) is a leading cause of injury deaths and disabilities in the united states and the most robust environmental risk factor for alzheimer's disease (ad). Vascular impairment is also a hallmark of the pathological events after tbi, including local edema, blood-flow reduction and breakdown of blood-brain barrier, which may significantly increase ad risk. Therefore, it is plausible to draw a cerebrovascular link between tbi and ad. Here we propose to address the paucity of research in the cerebrovascular connection between tbi and ad, and investigate the cerebrovascular impairment induced by tbi and its impact on the susceptibility to ad in animal models. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019218s. Name of organization or government: university of texas health science center san antonio. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by wenyan sun, phd, entitled: (a2019223f) investigating piwil and pirnas in tau transgenic mice and human tauopathy. Investigator's summary: i recently identified depletion of piwi/pirnas-induced aberrant transposable element activation as a pharmacologically targetable, mechanistic driver of neurotoxicity in tau transgenic drosophila. Since i reported that aberrant transposable element transcription is conserved in human tauopathy, i next determine whether machinery of transposable element silencing mediated by piwil and pirnas is dysfunctional in tau transgenic mice. I will further determine if pirnas that identified in alzheimer's disease are directly bound to piwil and determine if they are relevant to human”

“Name of organization or government: university of pennsylvania. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by garrett gibbons, phd, entitled: (a2019263f) selective detection of pathological alzheimer's disease (ad)-tau in human biofluids. Investigator's summary: there are currently no blood tests to determine if a person has alzheimer's disease (ad). It can be difficult to determine whether a person with dementia has alzheimer's disease, a different neurodegenerative disease, or both simultaneously. We created new antibody, named gt-38, that detects a form of tau protein present in ad but not other neurodegenerative diseases. We will use gt-38 to develop a test for blood or cerebral spinal fluid to distinguish ad from other neurodegenerative diseases. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019263f. Name of organization or government: university of southern california. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by alexandre bonnin, phd, entitled: (a2019279s) prenatal disruption of blood-placenta/brain barrier formation programs alzheimer's disease risk later in life. Investigator's summary: recent animal model studies suggest a causal link between inflammation during embryonic development and risk of alzheimer's disease-like neuropathology later in life. In light of recent research demonstrating that blood-brain barrier breakdown in the adult brain is a core cause of alzheimer's disease (ad), we hypothesize that inflammation-mediated disruption of blood-placenta and blood-brain barriers are key factors in the developmental origins of ad. This project, which explore understudied mechanisms and factors contributing to ad etiology, will provide invaluable insights into the developmental origins of this devastating disease. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019279s. Name of organization or government: icahn school of medicine at mount sinai. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by anna pimenova, phd, entitled: (a2019299f) modulation of microglial function by spi1 (pu.1) in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: analyses of genetic information in patients with alzheimer's disease (ad) have identified a multitude of intrinsic factors that modulate our predisposition to develop dementia. These factors are very common in human populations and together with rare familial cases of ad suggest that brain inflammation contributes to disease progression. This project will elucidate the protective features of immune cell types in the brain and define molecules that regulate brain response to disease. With this new information we will be able to propose interventional strategies for ad and other neurodegenerative disorders. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019299f. Name of organization or government: research foundation for mental hygiene. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by syed abid hussaini, phd, entitled: (a2019307s) does pathology in locus coeruleus trigger alzheimer's disease? Investigator's summary: the locus coeruleus (lc) of the brain is important for sleep and memory, and has been shown to be the first region to contain a bad protein called tau in their neurons, which causes alzheimer's disease. By studying electrical activity of lc neurons in animals performing memory tasks and during sleep, we will find out if tau is preventing lc to function normally, and causes sleep and memory problems. In addition, we will make lc neurons sensitive to light, so that we can control their activity by shining light and see if this restore its function and reverse sleep and memory problems. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019307s. Name of organization or government: emory university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by thomas kukar, phd, entitled: (a2019355s) understanding lysosome dysfunction i”

“Name of organization or government: memorial sloan-kettering cancer center. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by eitan wong, phd, entitled: (a2019356f) the circadian regulation of gamma-secretase activity in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's disease (ad) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease which becomes increasingly prevalent worldwide with no effective treatments available causing a healthcare problem of epidemic proportion. Although the cause of ad is poorly understood, the disease progression is associated with beta-amyloid peptide senile plaques and sleeping disorder, suggesting malfunction in internal biological clock and alteration of circadian rhythm. Interestingly, our initial data discovered that gamma-secretase activity, the enzyme responsible for amyloid plaques generation, also exhibits a daily circadian oscillation. In this proposal we aim to reveal the molecular interaction between circadian function and gamma-secretase activity and the connection to ad. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019356f. Name of organization or government: weill medical college of cornell university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by anna orr, phd, entitled: (a2019363s) selective blockade of mitochondrial free radicals in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: aging and neurodegenerative disease are associated with the accumulation of free radicals, also called oxidative stress, in the brain and other organs. Oxidative stress can damage cells and organs, and promote disease and impairments in brain function. We previously discovered small molecules that can selectively block specific causes of oxidative stress without affecting other normal cell functions. Our proposed research will test whether these molecules have therapeutic benefits in experimental models of alzheimer's disease. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019363s. Name of organization or government: regents of the university of california, irvine. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by kei igarashi, phd, entitled: (a2019380s) rescuing memory using cell-type specific reactivation of memory network activity. Investigator's summary: drs. O'keefe, moser and moser, three nobel prize researchers, previously found that brain cells called "place cells and "grid cells" are important to keep our memory. Are these cells broken in alzheimer's disease (ad) patients? If so, does fixing of these cells heal memory lost in ad patients? We will answer to these questions using animal models of ad. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019380s. Name of organization or government: columbia university, taub institute for research. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by gustavo rodriguez, phd, entitled: (a2019382f) machine learning & impaired spatial decoding in ad mice. Investigator's summary: complex information processing in the brain is possible due to the combined strength and diverse talents of large numbers of neurons working together. In mouse models of alzheimer's disease (ad) pathology, amyloid beta leads to overactive neuron signaling and poor spatial information processing, which may be aggravated by tau build-up. Using sophisticated recording techniques, we will measure the content and quality of spatial information transmitted by large numbers of neurons in brains containing amyloid beta and tau pathology. Dysfunctional neuronal populations will be selectively targeted to correct their overactive firing patterns, with the overall goal of improving the quality of spatial information carried by large numbers of neurons. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019382f. Name of organization or government: university of massachusetts school of medicine. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research b”

“Name of organization or government: massachusetts general hospital. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by maria calvo-rodriguez, phd, entitled: (a2019488f) dysfunction of astrocytic mitochondria in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: with this project, we want to clarify if mitochondria mobility, distribution and dynamics are altered in astrocytes in the pathology of alzheimer's disease (ad), and eventually determine the contribution of mitochondria and astrocytes to this disease. We will approach this issue by tracking mitochondria movement and distribution with the green fluorescent protein and the ca2+ dynamics with a reporter molecule targeted to mitochondria. Imaging in the brain of living animals using multiphoton microscopy will be performed in mouse models of ad. Once we know this sequence, we plan to reverse the mitochondrial dysfunction with appropriate drugs, suggesting novel molecular targets for therapeutic development that can be used in people. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019488f. Name of organization or government: northwestern university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by justyna dobrowolska zakaria, phd, entitled: (a2019520s) differentiation of alzheimer's disease subgroups using sapp-beta and sapp-alpha as cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of bace1 activity. Investigator's summary: our goal is to measure how quickly an alzheimer's disease (ad) patient's brain makes a specific protein, and compare this to a healthy patient's brain, to determine if in ad there is more of this protein being made than normal. Also, there is increasing evidence that not every patient's ad has the same cause. So additionally, we want to use the specific protein, and other proteins associated with ad, to determine if there are subgroups within ad patients, that might respond in different ways to drugs that target ad. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019520s. Name of organization or government: case western reserve university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by min-kyoo shin, phd, entitled: (a2019551f) investigation of the novel role of 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase in neurodegeneration in a mouse model of alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's disease (ad) is one of the most highly prevalent and devastating conditions in society, and there are currently no treatments that prevent or slow disease progression. We have discovered a new biological system governing neurodegeneration in traumatic brain injury: enzymatic activity of 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase in the brain that controls levels of prostaglandin e2, an endogenous agent that protects neurons. We also have preliminary evidence that levels of 15-pgdh are pathologically increased in animal models of ad, as well as human ad brain. This project will rigorously determine whether this aberrant increase in 15-pgdh plays a causative role in nerve cell death and behavioral learning problems in a mouse model of ad, and could thus identify a new therapeutic target for patients. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019551f. Name of organization or government: massachusetts institute of technology. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by xiao chen, phd, entitled: (a2019566f) dissecting the molecular mechanisms underlying astrogliosis in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's disease (ad) is a horrible disease with no cure. In the brains of these patients, a type of cells called astrocytes are turned into bad cells and start harming the brain. We are developing a cutting-edge method to study this in mice, hopefully, we will find a drug that can help turn astrocytes to do good again to help ad patients. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019566f. Name of organization or government: n”

“Name of organization or government: university of pennsylvania school of medicine. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by bede portz, phd, entitled: (a2019612f) rna disaggregases as regulators of rna phase-separation in c9orf72 frontotemporal dementia. Investigator's summary: frontotemporal dementia is caused by expanded repeats in the c9orf72 gene, which encode toxic repeat rnas that aggregate, forming rna foci. I will elucidate the machinery overwhelmed by c9orf72 repeat expansion by testing the hypothesis that ddx3x is an rna disaggregase capable of dissolving these foci, and by screening for new protein modifiers of c9orf72 rna foci in live cells. This proposal will reveal basic rna biology and identify novel therapeutic targets in frontotemporal dementia. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019612f. Name of organization or government: texas a & m university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by yuxiang sun, md, phd, entitled: (a2019630s) ghrelin receptor mediated neuroinflammation in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: low-grade chronic inflammation is a hallmark of aging, and inflammation in the brain causes and worsens alzheimer's disease (ad). We have evidence that suppression of a gene called ghs-r in immune cells produces an anti-inflammatory effect in the brain and improves spatial memory. The goal of this proposal is to determine the role of ghs-r in immune cells in ad. This has potential to lead to novel interventions for combating ad by combating inflammation. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019630s. Name of organization or government: johns hopkins university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by peter abadir, phd, entitled: (a2019634s) characterizing brain angiotensin system. Investigator's summary: this study is designed to evaluate specific factors that may play a role in development and progression of alzheimer's dementia. Angiotensin receptors 1, 2 and 4 (at1r, at2r and at4r) are found on brain cells and play an important function in brain vital functions. This study will examine changes in these receptors in brain cells in patients with alzheimer's dementia. We will also study the impact of a class of drugs that target these receptors and commonly used to treat high blood pressure. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019634s. Name of organization or government: mayo clinic, jacksonville. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research entitled: (ca2017563) molecular neurodegeneration journal. Investigator's summary: we partner with biomed central's open access journal, molecular neurodegeneration (mn), which is the official journal of brightfocus. The open access publishing model provides free articles to the general public, as well as scientists, clinicians, and other healthcare practitioners. Mn publishes peer-reviewed, original scientific research on the causes of eurodegenerative diseases, such as alzheimer's or parkinson's and on the pre-clinical testing of potential therapies for these devastating diseases. Mn has an impact score of 6.43 (with a 5-year impact factor of 7.08, reflecting the sustained impact of our journal), and remains the highest ranked open access neuroscience journal in the journal citation reports.”

“Name of organization or government: university of denver. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by ann charlotte granholm-bentley, phd, entitled: (ca2018010) international brain bank for down syndrome-related alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: the focus of this special project is to develop a strong collaborate network between six different research groups focused on providing much-needed information about the down syndrome population, of which as many as 80 percent have alzheimer's pathology by the time they are in their 50s and 60s. Although there are many centers and researchers that focus on alzheimer's in the general population, few of them focus on people with down syndrome. The information generated by our project will be of great help to those with down syndrome and those with alzheimer's disease. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/ca2018010. Name of organization or government: massachusetts general hospital. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by jill goldstein, phd, entitled: (ca2018607) development of clinical algorithm to identify risk for alzheimer's disease in early midlife investigator's summary: this project will support the launching of a comprehensive effort (integrating clinical, physiological and brain biology traits) to identify in early midlife biomarkers for alzheimer's disease risk informed by sex differences in brain aging and memory decline. This is one of the first projects to comprehensively assess multiple predicted biomarkers for alzheimer's risk in middle age and relate them to brain scans, physiology, genetics, and clinical data with a specific focus on incorporating differences between men and women in alzheimer's development. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/ca2018607. Name of organization or government: new york university school of medicine. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by kevin chan, phd, entitled: (g2019103) the role of brain waste clearance system in glaucoma. Investigator's summary: recently, a new hypothesis emerged that suggests the involvements of the brain waste clearance system called glymphatic system in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, yet its exact role remains largely unexplored, partly due to limited imaging methods to monitor the glymphatic system and the associated structural and functional changes in the visual system. This study will address this critical issue, by determining the cerebrospinal fluid dynamics along the optic nerve and the corresponding visual system impairments using advanced, multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging in several experimental animal models involving changes in eye pressure, brain pressure and water channel function. The results of this study will not only provide new insights into the brain involvements that occur during the process of glaucomatous neurodegeneration, but also are likely to suggest new strategies for targeting glaucoma treatment beyond lowering eye pressure. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2019103. Name of organization or government: emory university. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by eldon geisert, phd, entitled: (g2019111) robust optic nerve regeneration: a systems biology approach. Investigator's summary: recent studies have demonstrated that the adult optic nerve is capable of true axonal regeneration in the mouse. For this regeneration to be applicable to humans, the regenerating axons must travel a considerably longer distance. Our group has developed a mouse model system that will allow us to identify genes that will increase the number of regenerating axons by at least four times and the distance the axons grow by at least three times. If functional recovery is to occur in humans we must increase the number of regenerating axons and their rate of growth. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: ww”

“Name of organization or government: temple university. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by gareth thomas, phd, entitled: (g2019267) roles of palmitoylation in progression of glaucoma. Investigator's summary: glaucoma is a disease that causes blindness because the connections between the eye and brain are damaged. This damage is caused by activation of 'executioner' proteins that cause the connections to degenerate, and loss of 'survival' proteins that normally protect the connections. We have evidence that important executioner and survival proteins are modified with a sticky, fatty tag. We will determine the importance of this 'tagging' process for the damage seen in glaucoma, which may reveal new ways to treat this disease. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2019267. Name of organization or government: boston university school of medicine. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by haiyan gong, md, phd, entitled: (g2019295) the role of thrombospondin-1 in regulating iop. Investigator's summary: glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide and a primary risk factor for this disease is abnormally increased pressure inside the eye, which is usually a result of an elevated resistance to the drainage of the aqueous humor. Currently, the only way to treat or manage glaucoma is to lower this increased eye pressure. The proposed research will investigate the mechanisms responsible for regulating the drainage of the aqueous humor, by specifically studying an important targeting site of along the drainage pathway, the trabecular meshwork. The findings may lead to novel treatments or preventative measures for glaucoma. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2019295. Name of organization or government: johns hopkins university. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by robert johnston, phd, entitled: (g2019300) growing human retinal organoids to study retinal ganglion cell birth and death in glaucoma. Investigator's summary: during glaucoma, the neurons that connect the eye to the brain die, leading to vision loss. We have learned a great deal about these cells from studies in other animals like mice and fish, yet studies directly in developing human tissue have been limited. Here, we propose to grow human retinas in a dish from stem cells to (1.) determine what genes are on or off in these critical neurons, (2.) develop treatments to increase the number of these neurons, and (3.) study how these neurons die and develop ways to prevent their death. Our work will be the first to study these mechanisms in developing human tissue, providing insights critical for understanding glaucoma progression and therapeutic applications. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2019300. Name of organization or government: state university of new york at buffalo. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by sarah zhang, md, entitled: (g2019302) targeting neuroinflammation for rgc protection in glaucoma. Investigator's summary: the proposed research studies a novel protein that was recently identified as a key regulator of macrophages, a type of immune cells that are activated during glaucoma. Using genetic tools and animal models, the study will explore how this protein regulates macrophage activation and inflammation in the retina of glaucoma eyes. Furthermore, the study will develop a novel therapy using small vesicles secreted from bone marrow stem cells to manipulate macrophage behavior and protect retinal neurons in glaucoma. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2019302. Name of organization or government: baylor college of medicine. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by trent watkins, phd, entitled: (g2019332) stress signaling in the survival and repair of rgcs. Investigator's summary: disease processes in glaucoma harm”

“Name of organization or government: the schepens eye research institute. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by meredith gregory-ksander, phd, entitled: (g2019340) targeting the alternative complement pathway in glaucoma. Investigator's summary: glaucoma is a progressive eye disease that ultimately leads to the death of retinal ganglion cells (rgc) and loss of vision and recent studies have linked the progressive loss of rgcs with an over-activated immune system. In the healthy eye, inflammation is tightly regulated in order to protect the delicate tissues necessary for vision. However, in glaucoma inflammation in the eye becomes dysregulated resulting in death of rgcs and degeneration of the optic nerve. We have identified an important component of the immune system that we believe becomes dysregulated early in glaucoma and in this project we will determine the efficacy of targeting this pathway as a novel treatment approach in glaucoma. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2019340. Name of organization or government: university of illinois at chicago. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by john hetling, phd, entitled: (g2019356) diagnosing glaucoma in the peripheral retina. Investigator's summary: early diagnosis of glaucoma is important because it leads to more effective treatment. Early glaucoma can affect central vision or peripheral vision, so both areas of vision should be tested. The best objective test for glaucoma evaluates only central vision. Therefore, we developed a test to evaluate peripheral vision so that early detection is available to everyone. This project will give the central vision and peripheral vision tests to a group of glaucoma patients, to show that the new peripheral vision test helps to diagnose the disease. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2019356. Name of organization or government: duke university. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by michael hauser, phd, entitled: (g2019357) single cell rnaseq to characterize glaucoma risk genes. Investigator's summary: large studies have identified many genes and genetic variants that increase risk of glaucoma, but little is known about the mechanism. The work described in this proposal will examine the levels of these genes in individual cells in the retina, and how genetic variants change those levels. It will provide the basic information that will enable us to understand mechanism, and may lead to the development of new treatments for glaucoma. Importantly, this work will follow up new findings in african americans, a group that is disproportionately affected by glaucoma. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2019357. Name of organization or government: university of california, san francisco. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by saidas nair, phd, entitled: (g2019360) novel genetic mouse model of early-onset glaucoma. Investigator's summary: blinding diseases affecting children and young adults are mainly caused by defective genes, which are typically passed on from parent to their children. Our mission is to identify the culprit gene and find out how they act to cause blindness. The completion of this project will help us move forwards towards finding solutions to control and manage the disease. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2019360. Name of organization or government: vanderbilt eye institute. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by md imam uddin, phd, entitled: (m2019023) hairpin-dna functionalized nanoformulations for specific gene silencing in vivo in an animal model of age-related macular degeneration (amd). Investigator's summary: the goal of this proposal is to demonstrate the applications of a nanotechnology-based approach for the management of 'wet' amd without using any toxic transfection reagent”

“Name of organization or government: augusta university research institute. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by ming zhang, md, phd, entitled: (m2019035) the role of cytomegalovirus in the development of neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Investigator's summary: age-related macular degeneration (amd) is a leading cause of vision loss among people age 50 and older. Cytomegalovirus (cmv), a very common virus staying in the bodies of over half of americans, is associated with the development of many long-term diseases. The purpose of this application is to investigate if cmv stays in the human eyes and how virus reactivation in the eye contributes to the development of amd. This study also explores strategies to inhibit virus reactivation and alleviate development of amd induced by cmv reactivation in the eye. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2019035. Name of organization or government: university of north carolina at chapel hill. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by zongchao han, md, phd, entitled: (m2019063) selective targeting reactive oxygen species for age-related macular degeneration. Investigator's summary: age-related macular degeneration (amd) is an age related problem causing vision loss, mainly effected by the gradual buildup of free radicals, the waste products from our cells. We created a solution to prevent amd progression which serves as a selective waste collector to pick up any specific free radicals. We look to benefit all amd patients through our treatment. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2019063. Name of organization or government: indiana university school of medicine. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by tim corson, phd, entitled: (m2019069) inhibiting a novel target for wet amd therapy. Investigator's summary: abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye causes "wet" age-related macular degeneration, a major cause of blindness. Since many patients do not respond to existing therapies, new drugs are needed to block this blood vessel growth. Starting with a protein that we discovered that blocks blood vessel growth when inhibited, we will design and produce new chemicals that block this protein's function. We will test these chemicals for blood vessel growth inhibition in the petri dish and in eyes, as a key step towards developing a new therapy for wet amd. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2019069. Name of organization or government: university of massachusetts medical school. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by haijiang lin, md, phd, entitled: (m2019074) cytosolic accumulation of nuclear dna fragments in retinal pigment epithelium and age-related macular degeneration . Investigator's summary: age-related macular degeneration (amd) is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss among elderly people in developed countries. The "dry" form of amd accounts for 85% of all cases without effective treatment, while the "wet" form occurs in about 15% of the advanced amd cases, which is being treated with anti-vegf but not effective in all cases. Our study will identify the factor(s) contributing to the progression of amd and explore method to halt or reverse amd retinal lesion. Overall goal is to gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of this disease and to develop novel effective therapies. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2019074. Name of organization or government: the research foundation for suny on behalf of university at buffalo. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by michael farkas, phd, entitled: (m2019108) defining the functional role of rpe-expressed amd risk-associated long non-coding rnas. Investigator's summary: we aim to elucidate the role two novel long non-coding rnas play in the regulation of htra1, a ge”

“Name of organization or government: utah state university. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by elizabeth vargis, phd, entitled: (m2019109) an integrated microfluidic model of subretinal tissue to study age-related macular degeneration. Investigator's summary: the lining of the back of our eyes, including retinal pigment epithelial cells and blood vessels, supports our highly specialized photoreceptors. Blindness can occur if these cells and tissues do not work properly. By understanding how the layers work with one another, we can better understand how they behave normally and during disease. With our background as biological engineers, we will design a multi-layered model with human cells and blood vessels that realistically mimics the back of the eye under varying conditions to develop treatments that can effectively stop blindness. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2019109. Name of organization or government: children's hospital boston, harvard medical school. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by ye sun, md, phd, entitled: (m2019114) a negative immune regulator controls wet age-related macular degeneration. Investigator's summary: abnormal blood vessel growth is a major cause of irreversible vision loss in age-related macular degeneration (amd) patients. Currently there is no effective treatment to prevent or slow the blood vessel proliferation in wet amd patients. This work aims to investigate a novel negative-immune regulator that may suppress inflammation-induced abnormal vessel growth in amd by altering immune-vascular crosstalk. Novel activators of this immune regulator will be evaluated in a pre-clinical animal model of amd to determine if treatment is effective in preventing or slowing development of amd-like pathologies, and findings from this work will identify new treatments to prevent or treat wet amd. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2019114. Name of organization or government: university of wisconsin school of medicine and public health. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by raunak sinha, phd, entitled: (m2019131) understanding the first step in central vision: from genes to cellular function to therapy. Investigator's summary: our everyday visual experience - including your ability to read this text - is dominated by signaling in a specialized region of the eye called the fovea, which constitutes an exquisite 'high definition' array of photosensors called cones that gives us humans a 'high definition' vision. Diseases that attack the fovea makes it almost impossible to carry out everyday tasks such as reading, writing, driving and recognizing faces. By providing the first detailed insight into how the sensors in the fovea work, we can devise treatments for eye diseases that affect the fovea and hence restore eye sight. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2019131. Name of organization or government: the board of trustees of the university of illinois. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by joelle hallak, phd, entitled: (m2019155) a novel approach to personalized prediction of progression of age-related macular degeneration. Investigator's summary: age-related macular degeneration (amd) causes severe vision loss. Distinguishing which patients progress from an early or intermediate stage of amd to the advanced stage will help guide patient follow-up and testing. It would also lead to the early administration of treatments. In this proposal we aim to develop a tool to predict the chances of amd progression on a personalized, patient-by-patient basis by using images of the retina, and the patient's genetic, historical, demographic and behavioral data. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2019155. Name of organization or government: university of oklahoma health sciences”

“Name of organization or government: massachusetts general hospital. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by alexander marneros, md, phd, entitled: (m2019184) targeting inflammatory caspases as a novel approach to treat neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Investigator's summary: the "wet" form of age-related macular degeneration (amd) results from a localized inflammation in the back of the eye that leads to vision loss due to abnormal blood vessel formation that impairs the ability to see. Findings from several research groups and our own have identified a particular protein complex, called the inflammasome, as being a likely contributor to this inflammation that promotes the manifestation of "wet" amd. We have established a mouse model of this blinding eye disease and could show that inhibiting the inflammasome could strongly suppress the manifestation of "wet" amd. In order to develop novel pharmacologic treatments for patients with "wet" amd, it is important to understand which particular cell types in the eye are especially important for mediating the effects of the inflammasome, so that these specific cell types could be targeted selectively while reducing therapeutic side effects in other cell types. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2019184. Name of organization or government: university of alabama at birmingham. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by stephen aller, phd, entitled: (m2019212) cryo-em of abca4 and correction in macular degeneration defects. Investigator's summary: a critical part of our visual process is the recycling of a special molecule called a chromatophore after exposure to light by a molecular pump that allows the cell to regenerate the active form of the chromatophore. Some diseases of the eye result in misfolding and malfunction of the pump, called abca4, which can eventually lead to blindness. We propose to determine the three-dimensional structure of the active form of abca4, as well as to develop a drug selection process to discover new drugs that can correct folding defects of the abca4 pump. Our work may likely allow new fda-approved treatments for visual diseases such as macular degeneration. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2019212. Name of organization or government: helen keller foundation for research & education. (h) purpose of grant: 2019 helen keller prize for vision research partnership. The helen keller prize for vision research recognizes significant accomplishments in vision research, and provides funds for continuance of those studies.”