Project description DEENESFRITPL Combining genetics and imaging for AD drug discovery Clinical trials on new drugs against Alzheimer's disease (AD) have failed to show any efficacy in slowing disease progression, underscoring the importance of new therapeutic targets. Towards this goal, the EU-funded MAP-AD project will use autosomal and X chromosome genetic variants to identify novel molecular pathways and putative therapeutic targets. Scientists will decipher the impact of specific genetic variants on gene expression through the analysis of post-mortem brain tissue. Combined with multimodal brain imaging analysis, the genomics information will be applied to correctly enrol patients in clinical trials expediting the development of drugs for the prevention and treatment of AD. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a major societal challenge, impacting up to one third of the population over 85 years old. The European Commission and various international bodies have repeatedly fostered research initiatives to prevent the development or stem the progression of the disease. Several recent phase 3 clinical trials have failed to show any efficacy in slowing disease progression, calling into question the current drug targets. This project will use genetic data to identify new AD-relevant molecular pathways and their associated drug targets. Given the increased risk of AD in women, we will apply our innovative analyses not only to autosomal variants but also to X-chromosome variants as well. The mechanistic effects of genetic variants on pathogenesis will be delineated using gene expression from post-mortem brain tissue and AD biomarkers derived from multimodal brain imaging studies. These in-vivo PET and MRI biomarkers are essential for enrolling patients correctly in clinical trials and assessing the effect of treatments on disease progression. We will assess whether a polygenic risk score, based on thousands of genetic variants, will be useful in predicting an individual’s clinical and biomarker progression over time. This project is markedly interdisciplinary in nature between its analysis of multimodal brain imaging and genomics data, and the combination of big data analysis guided by expert medical knowledge of the pathogenesis. Results have the potential to (i) identify new drug targets and (ii) strengthen clinical trial design, thereby speeding the development of drugs for the prevention and treatment of AD. This fellowship represents a unique opportunity to transfer knowledge and analysis methods of next generation genomics AD data from one of the leading US groups in integrating multimodal imaging and genomics data to the European AD research community. Fields of science medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug discoverynatural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsmedical and health sciencesbasic medicineneurologydementiaalzheimernatural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdata sciencebig data Keywords MAP-AD Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2019 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2019 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator INSTITUT DU CERVEAU ET DE LA MOELLE EPINIERE Net EU contribution € 257 619,84 Address BOULEVARD DE L'HOPITAL 47 75013 Paris France See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 257 619,84 Partners (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all Partner Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY United States Net EU contribution € 0,00 Address SERRA MALL 450 94305 2004 Stanford See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 165 265,92