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 annually. 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 over $270 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 up to 10 times larger than the original brightfocus award. This high 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 the world's costliest diseases, brightfocus also provides free educational materials and support to hundreds of thousands of those impacted by these diseases nationwide. We root these educational materials in 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. The impact of alzheimer's. 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, supermarkets and digitally. In fiscal year 2022, these psa messages generated $12,439,938 in donated media services and garnered over 693 million impressions. 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. Partnering with several high-profile public and private organizations, brightfocus is helping better educate the public on the importance of equitable participation in clinical research as a way to accelerate the path to cures for neurodegenerative diseases. Specifically, brightfocus is producing and disseminating brain info live, a sustained, episodic virtual education series tailored t”

“Alzheimer's disease research (adr) - 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. Brightfocus' adr program funds research focused on understanding the causes of alzheimer's disease, its early detection, and treatments to help slow or stop its progression, and ultimately to prevent the disease altogether. Adr annually awards peer-reviewed grants to scientists from institutions worldwide who are conducting biomedical and clinical research on alzheimer's disease. Since inception, brightfocus has contributed more than $167 million to the conquering of alzheimer's disease. During the fiscal year ended march 31, 2022, adr awarded $12,439,027 in peer-reviewed grant awards to 52 new research projects and three other new scientific awards to make a total of $13,577,827 in funding. Notable projects include: using the eye and various imaging methods to detect dementia; hypertension and lifestyle effects on risk of alzheimer's (including lipids); drug discovery and biomarkers; the role of inflammation, microglia and vascular health in disease risk; looking at the mitochondria and cell energy deficiencies; role of sleep disturbances causing increased risk of cognitive issues; differences in genetics and disease risk for underrepresented populations; and better use of modern technologies, including big data/ai and systems genetics analysis for increased and decreased risks. Additional information about specific projects is included in schedules f & i. Brightfocus is honored to have supported the early research of two 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.”

“Macular degeneration research (mdr) - 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. As many as 11 million americans have some type of macular degeneration, including both the early and later stages of the wet and dry types. This number is expected to double to nearly 22 million by 2050. Macular degeneration research (mdr), a program of brightfocus, has awarded more than $45 million to scientists studying the disease. The latest research is focused on novel treatments for the disease, understanding its causes and progression, prediction methods and disease modeling, drug therapies, the role of the metabolism in disease risk, genes, the role of the immune response in disease risk, and new imaging, machine learning and screening techniques. Mdr grants are available to macular degeneration researchers worldwide. Mdr places special emphasis on encouraging applications from young scientists and those with cutting-edge ideas. Annual grant applications are peer-reviewed, and recipient selections are based on scientific merit. During the fiscal year ending march 31, 2022, mdr awarded $5,746,102 in peer-reviewed grant awards to 16 new research projects, with 5 additional scientific projects that take the total funding to $6,533,701. Details about specific projects are included in schedules f & i. 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.”

“National glaucoma research (ngr) - glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, according to a recent report from the world health organization, approximately 80 million people around the world have glaucoma. More than three million americans, over the age of 40 are living with glaucoma, with an estimated 2.7 million have open-angle glaucoma, the most common type. In the united states, glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness among black and hispanic americans. With early detection and treatment, glaucoma often can be managed to protect eyes from more serious vision loss. It is estimated that only half of the people living with glaucoma are aware that they have the disease. Brightfocus' ngr program has awarded more than $46 million worldwide for the study of glaucoma. Ngr-supported research has been focused on the eye-brain connection, how pressure buildup in the eye can affect synaptic nerve communications, neuroprotection and optic nerve regeneration, discovering glaucoma risk genes, ai/deep learning and adaptive optics, sleep disturbance and risk of developing glaucoma, developing early glaucoma screening, and pursuing novel genetic counseling and communication strategies, amongst other innovative pursuits. Ngr grants are available to glaucoma researchers worldwide. Ngr places special emphasis on encouraging applications from young scientists and those with cutting-edge ideas. Annual grant applications are peer-reviewed, and recipient selections are based on scientific merit. During the fiscal year ending march 31, 2022, ngr awarded $3,191,265 in peer-reviewed grant awards for 17 new projects and 2 other scientific awards to make a total of $3,539,684 in funding. 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.”

“Recoveries of prior year grants 528,609. Change in present value of grants 361,988.”

“Region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by laia montoliu-gaya, phd, entitled: (a2022015f) simultaneous measurement of six tau phosphorylations in blood to stage alzheimer`s disease. Investigator's summary: a reliable blood test would have a great potential for diagnosis of alzheimers disease (ad). In the recent years, many assays have been developed to measure different pathological variants of a protein called tau in blood. When trying to determine which variant is the best biomarker, studies can only compare the assays, but not the levels of the variants because they are measured differently. We have developed a novel method that can compare all these variants at the same time in the same sample. We aim to use this method to determine the best blood biomarker for the different stages of ad. Grant awarded: $200,000, university of gothenburg, institute for neuroscience and physiology, gothenburg, sweden. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022015f region: north america (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by christopher morrone, phd, entitled: (a2022016f) impairments in sleep and proteostasis accelerate alzheimer's disease progression. Investigator's summary: i hypothesize that sleep loss and protein recycling failure are interactive events in alzheimer's disease (ad), that precede memory loss and predict disease progression. To test this, i will look at sleep and memory, neuronal function, and markers of protein recycling and pathology in an ad mouse model to see if improving protein recycling can rescue behavior. Artificial intelligence models will be used to assess the contribution of these biological events to predict memory loss and disease risk, facilitating the discovery of novel biomarkers and treatments for ad. Grant awarded: $200,000, centre for addiction and mental health, toronto, ontario, canada. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022016f region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by sandra o. Tome, phd, entitled: (a2022019f) investigating tdp-43 biology in alzheimer's disease and late: impact on the clinical diagnosis. Investigator's summary: dementia affects around 50 million people worldwide, causing devastating consequences to these patients, their families and society. Alzheimer's disease (ad) and late are the most common dementias in the elderly. A link between these diseases is the presence of pathological aggregates with tdp-43 protein. In late, it is the major cause of the disease while in ad it accumulates alongside amyloid-beta and tau proteins, worsening cognition. A relevant question is whether the tdp-43 pathology observed in ad and late is molecularly similar and how it impacts the clinical diagnosis of these patients. Grant awarded: $200,000, catholic university of leuven, belgium. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022019f region: east asia & pacific (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by kristie stefanoska, phd, entitled: (a2022022f) master sites of tau phosphorylation as treatment targets for alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: the progression of alzheimer's disease correlates with the abnormal accumulation of a brain molecule called tau. Tau undergoes modification, which subsequently causes it to collect with other tau proteins and form larger, abnormal structures in the brain. I made the discovery that tau contains disease-promoting sites, which are essential in driving modification in this protein and i aim to investigate how removing the disease-promoting sites on tau could reduce abnormal modification of tau, and thus be used as a novel therapeutic approach to mitigate processes underlying alzheimer's disease. Grant awarded: $199,034, the flinders university of south australia, bedford park, adelaide, australia. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.br”

“Region: middle east (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by yuval dor, phd, entitled: (a2022035s) liquid biopsy for detection of cell death in alzheimer's disease based on cfdna methylation patterns. Investigator's summary: we propose to establish a novel type of blood test a liquid biopsy - to identify and monitor cell death in the brain and in other key tissues in patients developing alzheimer's disease (ad). The approach is based on a new technology that allows to determine the tissue sources of dna molecules released from dying cells to the blood, using cell type-specific dna methylation patterns. The assay will be applied to blood samples obtained from healthy individuals, people with mild cognitive impairment that go on to develop ad, and patients with established disease. Grant awarded: $300,000, hebrew university of jerusalem, israel. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022035s region: north america (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by sue-ann mok, phd, entitled: (a2022044s) dissecting how ptms regulate tau aggregate strain formation. Investigator's summary: in alzheimer's disease, molecules of tau protein form very specific shapes as they stack together to create large structures called aggregates that are thought to contribute to development and progression of disease. If we could figure out the factors that cause tau to take on the specific shapes we observe in disease, we may be able to prevent this pathological process. We are using advanced biochemical technologies to study hundreds of potential factors, called post-translational modifications, and identify the key factors leading to the tau shapes observed in alzheimer's. Grant awarded: $299,851, university of alberta, edmonton, canada. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022044s region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by dominik paquet, phd, entitled: (a2022045s) development of a human ipsc-based tauopathy model showing advanced phenotypes. Investigator's summary: investigating the mechanisms leading to nerve cell decline in dementias requires experimental disease models. We will develop a human model of tau-related dementias, such as alzheimer's and ftd. The tau protein plays a central role in dementia formation and nerve cell death. But its regulation in human nerve cells differs from mice, which are currently used as models. Using brain cells derived from human stem cells and genome editing with crispr, we aim to generate brain tissue with genetic alterations in the tau gene leading to dementia in patients, to investigate human disease mechanisms. Grant awarded: $300,000, hospital of the ludwig maximilian, university of munich, germany. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022045s region: north america (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by carlos roncero, phd, entitled: (a2022046s) understanding how alzheimer's disease impacts the therapeutic response to transcranial direct current stimulation. Investigator's summary: transcranial direct current stimulation (tdcs) is a new potential therapy for improving the quality of life for people living with alzheimer's disease (ad). Further work is needed for understanding how tdcs could be optimized and which individuals are the best candidates for receiving this form of therapy. The proposed project will test a new intensity level of tdcs that may produce stronger results in people with ad and collect participant information to identify who best responds to tdcs. These results will help us optimize and tailor tdcs for people with ad. Grant awarded: $243,196, baycrest centre for geriatric care, toronto, canada. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022046s region: europe (d) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by carlos saura, phd, entitled: (a2022047s) targetin”

“Region: europe (d) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by lucia celkova, phd, entitled: (m2022004f) an investigation into the role of panoptosis in geographic atrophy. Investigator's summary: the research proposed here aims to explore a master "decision maker" which could integrate and process these triggers and guide the fate of rpe cells either towards survival or death. Through this, we will not only gain a better understanding of the complex process underlying rpe cell death, but will also identify potential new targets and strategies for therapeutic intervention in dry amd. Grant awarded: $200,000, college of the holy and undivided trinity of queen elizabeth, dublin, ireland. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022004f region: europe (d) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by yara lechanteur, md, phd, entitled: (m2022013n) clinical and molecular characterization of early onset drusen maculopathy. Investigator's summary: age-related macular degeneration is the most common cause of blindness. It usually starts at an after the age of 65 but some patients develop a similar phenotype already before they turn 50. We aim to study these young onset cases by studying their family members and by looking at genetic factors and specific markers in bloodsamples. Our aim is to identify new factors that are involved in this disease. Better knowledge about the disease can aid in development of future therapies and may bring us a step closer towards treatment. Grant awarded: $449,838, radboud university nijmegen medical centre, nijmegen, netherlands. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022013n region: north america (d) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by przemyslaw sapieha, phd, entitled: (m2022015i) early life metabolic events influence age-related macular degeneration. Investigator's summary: immune cells, which play a key role in the aberrant blood vessel growth during amd, are altered following encounters with pathogens, as well as during persistent events such as obesity, potentially impacting disease development. In this proposal, we will assess whether immune cells are modified in a way that increases the risk of amd following weight gain and subsequent weight loss. Understanding how immune cells respond in the context of past obesity will allow us to gain insight on mechanisms that cause amd and potentially lead the way to developing targeted interventions. Grant awarded: $600,000, hospital maisonneuve-rosemont, montreal, quebec, canada. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022015i region: europe (d) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by wen hwa lee, phd, entitled: (m2022002) creating foresight: charity-led big data resource for discovery of novel biomarkers for multiple conditions using eye scans. Investigator's summary: the goal of this project is to build a prospective dataset of high-content images and 3d sub-tissue retinal scans of 500,000 participants with consent for secondary use and linkage to other health datasets. Participants and data collection will be disease agnostic and will include healthy participants; 500,000 milestone to be reached by year 3; ethical, transparent, and publicly supported data access model; participants' eye scans can be linked to genotyping data to be generated by uk's our future health initiative. Further this dataset will be made available for research via collaboration with scientists from academia and/or smes. Grant awarded: $250,000, action against amd, london, united kingdom. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/cm2022002”

“Name of organization or government: albany medical college. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by charly abi ghanem, phd, entitled: (a2022001f) influence of androgens on multi-etiology dementia. Investigator's summary: low testosterone levels in men are a risk factor for dementia and are associated with cognitive decline. This study will investigate the effects of testosterone removal and treatment on cognitive decline and pathology in a new mouse model of multi-etiology dementia. This addresses a major brain health issue in men (dementia) and contributes to the development of new treatments and preventions. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022001f name of organization or government: massachusetts general hospital. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by ana rita agra de almeida quadros, phd, entitled: (a2022002f) tdp-43-dependent truncation of stathmin-2 mrna as a novel target in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: accumulation of toxic proteins in the brain from patients with alzheimer's disease (ad) contributes to neurodegeneration. Tdp-43 is one of the proteins that abnormally accumulates in up to 50% of ad patients. Recently, my laboratory and others showed that stathmin-2, a protein crucial for neuronal function, is lost in neurons with abnormal tdp-43. I will determine whether stathmin-2 is altered in alzheimer's disease patients and represents a new potential therapeutic targets for patients with tdp-43 pathology. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022002f name of organization or government: weill medical college of cornell university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by antoine anfray, phd, entitled: (a2022003f) role of perivascular macrophages in apoe4-induced neurovascular dysfunction. Investigator's summary: accumulating evidence suggest that early alteration in the blood flow in the brain is an important contributing factor to alzheimer's disease (ad). Individuals with apolipoprotein e e4 (apoe4), a leading genetic risk factor for ad, have reduced blood flow to the brain; however, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Therefore, the aim of this project is to study the brain blood flow dysfunction caused by apoe4 with the ultimate goal of identifying new pathways that could be used to develop new drugs for the prevention and treatment of dementia. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022003f name of organization or government: stanford university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by ching-chieh chou, phd, entitled: (a2022004f) role of age-related lysosomal vulnerability in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: lysosomal vulnerability is critical to the development of alzheimer's disease (ad), whereas the molecular basis of the deficit in human neurons is not fully understood. I harness the lineage reprogramming technology to transdifferentiate human somatic cells into neurons (tneurons) to facilitate the learning of disease biology and test therapeutic strategies for ad. The outcomes will advance our understanding of lysosomal dysfunction and lysosome-targeting compounds for ad and potentially and other dementias. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022004f name of organization or government: university of california (irvine). (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by christian crouzet, phd, entitled: (a2022005f) the effect of hypertension on neurovascular dysfunction and alzheimer's disease progression during midlife. Investigator's summary: midlife hypertension is an increasingly important risk factor for alzheimer's disease (ad) and related dementias. We will investigate how hypertension affects the progression of alzheimer's disease from a blood flow, cognitive, and pathological perspective through midlife. We will test if anti-hypertensi”

“Name of organization or government: washington university in st. Louis. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by alexandra litvinchuk, phd, entitled: (a2022010f) the role of abca1 in regulation of glial lipid metabolism in apoe4-induced tauopathy and alzheimer`s disease. Investigator's summary: apoe4 is the strongest genetic risk factor for developing late-onset ad and was shown to markedly elevate tau pathology and neurodegeneration in the p301s/apoe4 tauopathy mice. A disruption of lipid metabolism in glia is linked to neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in several studies; we recently detected a significant buildup of lipids in glia of aged p301s/apoe4 animals. In this study, we will assess the role of abca1 lipid transporter in modulation of glial lipid metabolism in the p301s/apoe4 mice, thus, providing novel therapeutic avenues for treating tauopathy and ad. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022010f name of organization or government: massachusetts general hospital. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by chao liu, phd, entitled: (a2022011f) developing a novel optical imaging method to investigate the relationship of white matter abnormality and vasculature in cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Investigator's summary: white matter hyperintensity (wmh) is a typical neuroimage marker for the diagnostics of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (caa), however, its role in neurodegeneration is not fully understood. The proposed project aims to establish a versatile tool, automatic serial 3d optical coherence scanner (as-3docs), which will unravel the sources for wmh in clinical mri. The high-resolution as-3docs data will enable accurate quantification of myelination and have the potentials to guide mri in developing more sensitive biomarkers for early-stage caa and targeted therapy. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022011f name of organization or government: university of pennsylvania. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by courtney marshall, phd, entitled: (a2022012f) in vivo cx-4945 induced ck2 inhibition treatment of alzheimer's disease pathology and cognitive symptoms. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's disease (ad) generates pathological changes in tau in addition to cognitive decline, yet ad research has yet to identify a disease modifying treatment. Memantine is currently used to treat cognitive impairment in ad patients. This pharmaceutical tool selectively inhibits extrasynaptic nr2b activity. Prior studies have established that casein kinase 2 (ck2) regulates synaptic/extrasynaptic nr2b location and suggest a potential therapeutic effect of ck2 inhibition. We propose using a clinically approved ck2 inhibitor to test this effect in an ad mouse model. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022012f name of organization or government: washington university, school of medicine. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by nicole mckay, phd, entitled: (a2022013f) investigating how white matter integrity and tauopathy underpin cognitive decline in autosomal dominant alzheimer disease. Investigator's summary: in the years leading up to alzheimer disease diagnosis, the brain begins to deteriorate. Scientists believe that abnormal forms of the tau protein may be partially responsible for these changes. This excessive and abnormal tau can spread along white matter pathways causing a breakdown in the way our brain functions. Unfortunately, these white matter pathways are critical for our ability to perform memory and attention-based tasks. Our project aims to understand how levels of tau impact the integrity of our brain's pathways and leads to a decline in cognition. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022013f name of organization or government: washington university, school of medicine. (h) purpose of grant”

“Name of organization or government: university of california, irvine. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by lorena sordo, phd, entitled: (a2022021f) the role of leptin on alzheimer's disease pathogenesis in down syndrome. Investigator's summary: people with down syndrome (ds) have a high risk of developing alzheimer's disease (ad). Mid-life obesity and late-life weight loss increase the risk of ad. Since people with ds tend to be overweight, they may have an even greater risk of developing ad. We will measure levels of leptin (a hormone that regulates appetite and food intake that is released in response to the amount of fat tissue in the body) in people with ds, with and without ad, and will assess the association between leptin levels and abnormal deposition of amyloid-beta (ab) and tau, major hallmarks of ad, in the brain. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022021f name of organization or government: northwestern university - evanston campus. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by xiaojing sui, phd, entitled: (a2022023f) comprehensive identification of the metastable subproteome dysregulated in aging and alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: alzheimer's disease is a leading cause of dementia and aging is a strong risk factor. This study will identify the proteins that go awry in aging and alzheimer's disease, using an advanced technology that can screen thousands of proteins at a time. The ultimate goal of the project is to identify new protein biomarkers of aging and alzheimer's disease and provide new treatment targets. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022023f name of organization or government: university of colorado, boulder. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by meaghan van alstyne, phd, entitled: (a2022025f) roles and applications of srrm2 in the assembly and disassembly of tau aggregates. Investigator's summary: a key hallmark of alzheimer's disease is tau aggregation which is believed to play a role in neuronal degeneration. With no curative treatments available, it is critical to better understand disease mechanisms to develop effective treatments. We recently identified tau aggregates contain a protein relocated from nuclear speckles called srrm2. This research plan will investigate the interaction of srrm2 with tau and evaluate effects in disease contexts. Further, i will repurpose this knowledge to identify factors that can mitigate tau aggregation with broad therapeutic potential. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022025f name of organization or government: boston children's hospital. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by huixin xu, phd, entitled: (a2022026f) harnessing the choroid plexus barrier as a neuroimmune barrier in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: my ultimate goal is to enable treatments for alzheimer's disease (ad) that curb brain inflammation at the barriers separating the brain from the rest of the body, focusing on a tissue called the choroid plexus. I will apply newly developed imaging tools that enable exploration of blood-borne immune cells entering the choroid plexus in ad models and test for barrier breakdown and blood vessel leakage. The innovation from my research will launch my independent career to continue this inquiry, and benefit researchers of other inflammatory brain diseases. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022026f name of organization or government: university of california, san francisco. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by andrew yang, phd, entitled: (a2022027f) understanding how human brain vascular cells mediate genetic risk for alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: the risk for late-onset alzheimer's disease (ad) involves dozens of risk variants operating in diverse cell types. Elucidat”

“Name of organization or government: university of kansas center for research, inc. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by lan guo, phd, entitled: (a2022036s) mitochondrial dna oxidative damages and microglial activation in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: microglia-mediated neuroinflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of alzheimer's disease (ad), the mechanisms of ad-related microglial activation are not fully understood. In view of our preliminary data, we aim to establish a cause-effect relationship of oxidative damage and the subsequent leakage of mitochondrial dna (mtdna) with inflammatory microglial response via activation of cytosolic dna-sensing system in ad-related conditions. Positive results will reveal a novel mitochondrial pathway of neuroinflammation in ad and hold promise to develop innovative therapy for ad treatment. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022036s name of organization or government: brigham young university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by david hansen, phd, entitled: (a2022037s) validating pilra, an immune checkpoint and ad-associated gene, as a therapeutic target for alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: the emerging landscape of alzheimer's therapeutics includes drugs intended to promote the protective functions of microglia, the brain's immune cells. The majority of these therapeutics seek to directly activate trem2, a key receptor for microglial activation and healthy cns tissue maintenance. In this proposal, we explore the therapeutic potential of blocking microglial checkpoint proteins as an indirect way of enabling more robust trem2 function at sites of microglial activation, which may be safer than chronic activation of all microglia (and possibly osteoclasts/macrophages). For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022037s name of organization or government: washington university in st. Louis. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by keith hengen, phd, entitled: (a2022038s) aberrant neural dynamics in early life warn of future disease. Investigator's summary: symptoms of alzheimer's disease (ad) only emerge after toxic proteins have taken a significant toll on the circuitry of the brain. Effective intervention in ad is believed to be stymied by the inability to detect the disease until it is too late to make a difference. Here we demonstrate a novel method to predict ad before symptoms appear by measuring brain activity in both humans and mouse models of disease. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022038s name of organization or government: colorado state university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by seonil kim, phd, entitled: (a2022039s) co-activation of selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptors improves hippocampal activity in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: changes in brain rhythms (synchronized activity between nerve cells) in the hippocampus have been linked to memory impairments associated with alzheimer's disease (ad). Importantly, these alterations in brain rhythm can be detected before ad patients display signs of memory loss. As a result, these changes could be a precursor to ad. Knowing this, we plan to investigate whether aberrant brain activity and memory loss can be prevented or perhaps reversed in the early stages of ad. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022039s name of organization or government: rice university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by stephanie leal, phd, entitled: (a2022040s) precise neurobiological profiling of the locus coeruleus and medial temporal lobe for the early detection of alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: the cause of alzheimer's disease (ad) is unknown. We have begun to understand which brain regions are impacted decades before clinical sy”

“Name of organization or government: trustees of boston university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by julia tcw, phd, entitled: (a2022049s) modulation of astrocyte matrisome signals reprogram microglia that can be targeted to mitigate alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset alzheimer's disease (ad) is apolipoprotein e e4 (apoe4). With the goal of explaining how apoe4 influences risk of ad, we will suppress an apoe4 risk signal and understand the mechanism of cellular reprogramming to prevent ad in our "brain-in-a-dish" model. We hope this approach can identify new drug targets of apoe4 and open doors to novel therapeutic modalities. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022049s name of organization or government: university of michigan. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by peter tessier, phd, entitled: (a2022050s) cd98hc brain shuttle for efficient delivery of a neuroprotective trkb agonist antibody in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: monoclonal antibodies are revolutionizing the treatment of human diseases. However, an achilles heel of these large molecules is that they poorly penetrate the blood-brain barrier, which greatly limits their use for treating alzheimer's disease (ad). We have developed a novel approach for delivering antibodies to the brain by attaching a small protein to them to mediate antibody entry into the brain. In this proposal, we seek to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of delivering an antibody to the brain that stimulates neuroprotective signaling and prevents neuronal death in animal models of ad. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022050s name of organization or government: massachusetts general hospital. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by susanne van veluw, phd, entitled: (a2022051s) targeting apoe as a treatment strategy in cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Investigator's summary: cerebral amyloid angiopathy (caa) is a disease in which amyloid builds up in the blood vessels of the brain, which can cause bleeding and dementia. There are currently no treatments for caa. Removing amyloid with immunotherapy is not recommended due to a high bleeding risk. This risk is further increased in caa patients with an apoe4 genotype. A recent study suggested that removing apoe, which is co-deposited with amyloid, could be a safe alternative. However, it remains unclear whether removing apoe improves caa and protects blood vessels. This project will test this in a mouse model. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022051s name of organization or government: president & fellows of harvard college. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by limor cohen, phd, entitled: (a2022052f) spatial transcriptomics of isoform expression in alzheimer's disease. Investigator's summary: the brain is a complex and highly organized tissue that consists of distinct functional regions. Each brain region consists of many cell types that are spatially organized in a unique pattern that underlies brain function. Here, i propose to develop a new method to map these cell types in healthy and alzheimer's disease (ad) brains. I will also use this method to understand which cell types and cellular environments are vulnerable to tau propagation in ad. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2022052f name of organization or government: mayo clinic, jacksonville. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research entitled: (ca2021010) molecular neurodegeneration journal. Investigator's summary: the aim of molecular neurodegeneration (mn) journal (https://molecularneurodegeneration.biomedcentral.com/) is to serve the scientific community by publishing high-impact, high-quality, and front-line research discoveries in diverse areas of neurodegenerative d”

“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: emergency relief supplement due to covid-19. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019128s 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: emergency relief supplement due to covid-19. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/a2019634s name of organization or government: johns hopkins university. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by quincy samus, phd, entitled: (ca2021001) dissemination of mind at home dementia care model to drive health care transformation and greater value. Investigator's summary: informed by decades of dementia care clinical expertise, best practice recommendations, and clinical studies, mind at home is an effective, comprehensive, homebased dementia care coordination model that systematically assesses and addresses a broad range of dementiarelated care needs that place elders at risk for health disparities, hospitalizations, unwanted long term care placement, poor quality of life and family caregivers at risk for burnout and health impacts. Yet translation into practice has been slow primarily due lack of data on its potential for return on investment and its value proposition to health systems, health plans, and providers, as well lack of data on how to effectively refine the model to integrate into existing health care delivery environments. This grant supports a partnership with university of maryland baltimore county, jade gong & associates llc, and johns hopkins home care group, with the support of maryland primary care program, maryland medicaid, and johns hopkins alliance for patients to strategically advance the dissemination and translation of john hopkins university's evidencebased mind at home model, in the context of maryland's new primary care program (mdpcp) as a transformative tool to achieve greater care coordination and value for a vulnerable cognitively impaired population. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/ca2021001 name of organization or government: foundation for the national institutes of health. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research, entitled: (ca2021012) pre-competitive analytical validation of sv2a pet imaging as a biomarker of synaptic density. Investigator's summary: the sv2a pet project aims to demonstrate the reliability of sv2a pet imaging as a biomarker of synaptic density in alzheimer's disease and accelerate the application of sv2a pet as a treatment response marker in disease-modifying clinical trials. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/ca2021012 name of organization or government: boston university school of medicine. (h) purpose of grant: alzheimer's disease research by benjamin wolozin, md, phd entitled: (ca2020002) development of synthetic gene feedback circuits to prevent tau aggregation. Investigator's summary: this proposal uses a radically novel approach termed "synthetic biology", which uses concepts from electrical engineering to design new types of genetic therapy for alzheimer's disease (ad). We will create new synthetic gene circuits that can detect and then remove harmful tau pathology as it appears in the brains of patients with ad. These new therapies will selectively target only those nerve cells that actually have pathology, increasing the effectiveness while reducing the potential for unwanted side effects. For more information, visit the brightfocus website”

“Name of organization or government: indiana university. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by alessandra carmichael-martins, phd, entitled: (g2022001f) adaptive optics optical coherence tomography and scanning laser gonioscopy of the human trabecular meshwork in vivo. Investigator's summary: elevated intraocular pressure, the major risk factor in glaucoma, is primarily controlled by the rate of aqueous outflow through the trabecular meshwork and schlemm's canal. In post-mortem human tissue, changes to these structures are associated with glaucoma, and many glaucoma treatments target this region. This proposal will enable researchers and clinicians to achieve three dimensional images of the drainage structures in the living human eye at cellular-level resolution, allowing a deeper understanding of changes within the trabecular meshwork associated with age, glaucoma, and treatment. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2022001f name of organization or government: indiana university. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by catia gomes, phd, entitled: (g2022003f) the role of reactive astrocyte-associated complement c3 in glaucomatous neurodegeneration. Investigator's summary: glaucoma is characterized by retinal ganglion cells (rgcs) dysfunction and loss. Reactive astrocytes closely associate with rgcs in the optic nerve head, where the initial insult to rgc axons occurs. A specific neurotoxic phenotype of reactive astrocytes was recently identified. To study such neurotoxic effects, rgcs and astrocytes will be differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells, and microfluidic platforms used to allow the specific analysis of rgc axons. Identifying reactive astrocyte-induced axonal degeneration pathways will allow for the development of novel therapeutic strategies. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2022003f name of organization or government: university of north texas health science center at fort worth. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by prabhavathi maddineni, phd, entitled: (g2022004f) effect of ocular hypertension on synaptic function and plasticity in glaucomatous neurodegeneration. Investigator's summary: glaucoma is an eye disease that can causes blindness by damaging the optic nerve. The job of the optic nerve is to transfer visual information from eye to the brain via electrical impulses. In glaucoma, an increased ocular pressure causes optic nerve degeneration. Since optic nerve is the part of central nervous system and connected to the brain, pressure induced optic nerve damage may also damage surrounding cells and neurons in the brain. In this proposal, we will study how neurons in the brain communicate with each other in response to pressure induced damage. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2022004f name of organization or government: johns hopkins university school of medicine. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by thomas johnson, md, phd, entitled: (g2022005s) in vivo adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy to characterize functional retinal integration of transplanted rgcs using a novel transgenic reporter paradigm. Investigator's summary: stem cell transplantation therapy has the potential to restore vision for tens of millions of people worldwide suffering from optic nerve diseases such as glaucoma. To help usher this new approach towards treating human patients, we propose to develop a novel, sensitive, rapid experimental tool that labels successful integration of transplanted neurons in the retinas of recipient eyes, and to rigorously validate the experimental framework using multiple complimentary techniques that include high-resolution three-dimensional microscopy and measurements of electrical responses to light. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2022005s name of organization or govern”

“Name of organization or government: good samaritan foundation (lhs). (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by hongli yang, phd, entitled: (g2022008s) novel techniques to correlate structural and molecular alterations in non-human primate early glaucoma. Investigator's summary: this proposal's goal is to identify the cellular and molecular alterations underlying longitudinal structural change in an experimental glaucoma monkey model. We propose to develop and optimize novel methods to automatically colocalize post-mortem immunohistochemistry images to in vivo optical coherence tomography (oct) scans. Overall, this project will inform and enhance the interpretation of human oct imaging, advance our understanding of pathophysiologic mechanisms in glaucoma, and provide guidance to improve therapeutic options before glaucomatous damage becomes permanent and untreatable. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2022008s name of organization or government: cedars-sinai medical center. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by shaomei wang, md, phd, entitled: (g2022009s) neural progenitor cell engineered to express trophic factor for treating glaucoma. Investigator's summary: elevated intraocular pressure (iop) is a prominent manifestation of glaucoma, a chronic, progressive optic neuropathy characterized by loss of retinal ganglion cells (rgcs) and visual field defects. Accumulating evidence has shown the site of iop induced axonal damage is the optic nerve head (onh), where astrocytes retract its processes and fail to provide essential metabolic and trophic support to rgcs. The novel approach of this study is to deliver a combined stem cell and gene therapy close to the site of disease to protect rgcs from secondary degeneration in a rodent model of glaucoma. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2022009s name of organization or government: duke university school of medicine. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by myoungsup sim, phd, entitled: (g2022010s) autophagy regulates endothelial nitric oxide (no)synthase/no in schlemm's canal cells in response to shear stress. Investigator's summary: several studies have shown that nitric oxide (no) lowers eye pressure. More, a novel no-donating drug (latanoprostene bunod) has been recently approved to lower eye pressure in patients with glaucoma. However, most of the no-based drugs have failed to be approved by fda due to some challenges related to the exogenous delivery of no, such as uncontrolled no release, suggesting that regulation of endogenous no production could represent a better strategy for glaucoma treatment. Here, we seek to investigate how to regulate endogenous no production to improve the current no-based glaucoma therapy. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2022010s name of organization or government: vanderbilt university medical center. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by michael risner, phd, entitled: (g2022011s) harnessing intercellular mitochondrial transfer in human-derived retinal cells to treat glaucoma. Investigator's summary: glaucoma is an age-related neurodegenerative disease, causing irreversible blindness through retinal ganglion cell death. Glaucoma is typically treated by lowing intraocular pressure. However, many patients do not produce a robust response to this treatment and continue to lose vision. For these people, cell replacement therapy may be the only option. The most important point of this proposal is understanding the metabolic interaction between healthy and stressed cells in the context of cell transplantation for the treatment of glaucoma. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2022011s name of organization or government: emory university. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by jiaxing wang, phd, entitled: (g2022012s) g”

“Name of organization or government: indiana university. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by jason meyer, phd, entitled: (g2022014s) exploring the role of the apbb2 risk variant in glaucoma with human induced pluripotent stem cells. Investigator's summary: african americans are at a significantly higher risk for glaucoma compared to other ethnicities. Recently, a variant in the apbb2 gene was identified to be significantly associated with glaucoma in african americans, representing a novel opportunity to explore the degeneration of rgcs associated with this increased risk. The overall goals of this application focus upon the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells, as well as crispr/cas9 gene editing, as an in vitro model to study the effects of this gene variant on rgcs and identify how it may lead to glaucomatous neurodegeneration. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2022014s name of organization or government: university of california davis. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by nick marsh-armstrong, phd, entitled: (g2022016s) live imaging to determine whether mitochondria and amyloid beta axonal releases are linked. Investigator's summary: this proposal will use live imaging of the optic nerve in young tadpoles to determine whether an agent believed to be central to alzheimer's disease might be being released from axons together with mitochondria. If its release is linked to that of mitochondria, it would have profound implications for both alzheimer's disease and glaucoma. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2022016s name of organization or government: the university of iowa. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by michael anderson, phd, entitled: (g2022017s) testing the influence of podosomes on intraocular pressure. Investigator's summary: there are ongoing needs for improved glaucoma therapies. One approach is to find new ways to decrease aqueous humor outflow resistance and thereby lower intraocular pressure. Here, we test the role of small fingerlike protrusions of cells called "podosomes". Our experiments use mice to manipulate podosomes and assess whether this changes intraocular pressure. This work will lead to important information about the cell biology of glaucoma, perhaps identifying the precise molecular location of outflow resistance, and may point to compounds altering podosomes as potential new glaucoma therapies. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/g2022017s name of organization or government: stanford university. (h) purpose of grant: national glaucoma research by jeffrey goldberg, phd, entitled: (cg2022001) a randomized, sham controlled, masked phase ii study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of dual intravitreal implantation of neuroprotective cell therapy for the treatment of glaucoma. Investigator's summary: the proposed project is an extension of the current phase 2 clinical trial, to assess and validate the use of dual nt-501 cntf encapsulated cell therapy (ect) on visual impairment related to glaucoma, in human subjects. The proposed study is designed to expand our knowledge of the dose-dependent effect of cntf in glaucoma through dual implantation of nt-501 ect. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/cg2022001 name of organization or government: the university of north carolina at chapel hill. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by yongsu kwon, phd, entitled: (m2022001f) nanoceria-coated melanin nanoparticles as a novel antioxidant for age-related macular degeneration. Investigator's summary: this study aims to develop a combination of a new antioxidant system to scavenge free radicals (toxic waste products that gradually build up in the cells over time), which can potentially achieve long-term effects and reduce the damage in amd. For more information, visit the bri”

“Name of organization or government: university of washington. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by daniel hass, phd, entitled: (m2022003f) disinhibition of fatty acid oxidation to dispose of drusen components. Investigator's summary: this study determines the effect of a small molecule on fatty acid metabolism, cell function, and deposit levels in multiple cell culture and mouse models of amd. This small molecule has been tested in humans in clinical trials and is safe, so if it is also effective at decreasing deposit levels the transition to clinical use may be more rapid than for untested treatments. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022003f name of organization or government: the university of texas southwestern medical center. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by steffi daniel, phd, entitled: (m2022005f) identifying pharmaceutics for amd associated pathophysiology. Investigator's summary: this study will employ novel "disease-in-a-dish" system, to screen for more than 1500 fda approved drugs for their ability to reverse disease. Lead drugs from this screen will also be extensively and rigorously tested in a pre-clinical model system. If successful, the results from this study will contribute towards transforming amd therapeutics. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022005f name of organization or government: seattle children's hospital. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by leah vandenbosch, phd, entitled: (m2022006f) molecular and machine learning approaches to non-coding risk in age-related macular degeneration. Investigator's summary: this study will apply machine learning to human retinal and retinal pigmented epithelium genomic data to predict the effect of variations in the non-coding regions, the regions of dna with no known function to contribute directly to amd. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022006f name of organization or government: university of rochester. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by kristen bowles johnson, phd, od, entitled: (m2022007f) cellular scale characterization of the rpe-photoreceptor complex in pentosan-associated maculopathy; a model for geographic atrophy progression. Investigator's summary: in this study, researchers will use a camera called an adaptive optics ophthalmoscope (aoo) to take pictures of fluorescent clumps in rpe cells and measure how sick photoreceptors as the disease progresses. Completion of this study could identify biomarkers to help identify patients most likely to benefit from a treatment and determination of treatment efficacy. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022007f name of organization or government: the regents of the university of michigan. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by thomas wubben, phd, entitled: (m2022008n) metabolic uncoupling and amd: assessing the role of pkm2 in the bioenergetic crisis of the outer retina. Investigator's summary: age-related macular degeneration (amd) is a leading cause of visual impairment in the elderly. It affects nearly 200 million people worldwide, and this number is expected to continue to increase in the coming decades. While the exact cause of amd remains unknown, deregulation of cellular metabolism is believed critical to its pathogenesis. This project will reveal the significance of modulating metabolic targets important in macular degeneration, which may have immediately translatable applications to clinically treat patients. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022008n name of organization or government: oregon health & science university. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by yifan jian, phd, entitled: (m2022009n) mapping of photoreceptor nuclear layer using volumetric directional oct:”

“Name of organization or government: university of nevada, reno. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by albert gonzales, phd, entitled: (m2022010n) light-dependent constriction of choroid vasculature. Investigator's summary: the current proposal challenges the commonly held view that capillary networks are passive structures whose sole purpose is to provide a conduit infrastructure for blood flow. We will examine the how blood vessels can respond to light and change blood flow in the eye. This process is not only important for the delivery of vital oxygen and nutrients for cell survival, but also for the removal of waste deposit that can lead to diseases like age-related macular degeneration. Completion of the proposal will provide insights into the active physiological role of capillaries in choroid vasculature. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022010n name of organization or government: the regents of the university of michigan. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by lev prasov, phd, entitled: (m2022011n) the role of myrf in transcriptional regulation of retinal pigment epithelial maintenance. Investigator's summary: the retinal pigment epithelium (rpe) is a supporting tissue that is critical for vision and is implicated in the early pathology of age-related macular degeneration (amd). We identified a new gene, myrf, that controls expression of other genes in the rpe and leads to dysfunction. Our proposal evaluates the role of this gene in maintaining adult rpe function and its ability to protect against stresses that lead to amd. Understanding this may open new avenues for treatment of amd by targeting this gene or its downstream targets. It will also improve our knowledge of rpe biology. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022011n name of organization or government: university of south florida. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by manas biswal, phd, entitled: (m2022012n) investigating retinal pigment epithelium (rpe) injury response in african spiny mice (acomys). Investigator's summary: degeneration of the neural retina and in the retinal pigment epithelium (rpe) is associated with the advanced atrophic form of dry-amd. Since photoreceptors in the neural retina and rpe are postmitotic, they cannot be replaced once they die. Therefore, the treatments boosting the endogenous factors to stimulate retinal tissue regeneration could be a novel therapeutic strategy. Our goal is to study ocular regeneration following tissue injury in an animal model that could facilitate studies to develop potential treatments for dry-amd in humans. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022012n name of organization or government: johns hopkins university school of medicine. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by srinivasa rao sripathi, phd, entitled: (m2022014n) screening for molecules that modulate rpe epithelial-mesenchymal transition and response to amd-related stressors as leads for the treatment of amd. Investigator's summary: an early event associated with amd is damage to the retinal-pigmented epithelium (rpe), the cells that help maintain photoreceptor cell health and function. Multiple factors, including cigarette smoke, have been identified as being important in initiating and promoting rpe injury. One of the ways the rpe responds to injury is by a process known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (emt), where rpe loses its integrity. To develop novel treatments for amd, we propose to utilize human stem cell-derived rpe cells to screen for molecules (potential drugs) that inhibit rpe damage and reduce emt. For more information, visit the brightfocus website: www.brightfocus.org/grant/m2022014n name of organization or government: the jackson laboratory. (h) purpose of grant: macular degeneration research by patsy nishina, phd, entitled: (m”