Alzheimer's Disease

The Model Organism Development and Evaluation for Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease (MODEL-AD) consortium is developing the next generation of laboratory models used by scientists throughout the United States to study genetic contributors to Alzheimer’s disease and test potential treatments. MODEL-AD animal models represent human Alzheimer’s disease more closely than existing mouse models and accelerate the development of effective therapies for the disease.

Researchers from the IU School of Medicine and the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering are co-leading the Microphysiological Systems to Advance Precision Medicine for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (MPS-AD). The center is one of only two centers in the United States dedicated to developing stem-cell-based models of the human brain to better understand the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

The federal government has designated IU School of Medicine as the national site to collect blood, DNA, tissue, spinal fluid and other samples from tens of thousands of people with Alzheimer’s disease across the country. The National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD) is a central biobank in the United States that enables scientists from around the world to access critically important biological samples for new and ongoing research.