AFI-Grants for Dr. Alejandro Ivan Ruiz-Riquelme, Dr. Kristin Oberländer and Prof. Gerd Kempermann

Three DZNE researchers have received funding from the non-profit Alzheimer Forschung Initiative e.V. (AFI): Dr. Alejandro Ivan Ruiz-Riquelme, postdoc at DZNE Tübingen (AG Jucker) is funded by the AFI with 40,000 euros. For two years, he will be doing research in the pilot project "Targeting proteopathic seeds at pre-amyloid stages of Alzheimer's disease", where he will isolate and analyze pathogenic beta-amyloid aggregation assemblies from early-stage Alzheimer's brains to produce antibodies against them. The funds will be used for salaries and for laboratory materials such as antibodies and electron microscopy.
The AFI is also providing funding for a two-year pilot project in Bonn: Dr. Kristin Oberländer, postdoc in AG Schneider, will also receive 40,000 euros. In her project "Treatment effects of intranasal budesonide in an AD mouse model" she will work with Alzheimer mice to investigate whether Alzheimer's can be treated with cortisone-like substances. The funds will cover the costs of mice and laboratory materials such as antibodies as well as travel expenses.
Prof. Gerd Kempermann, site speaker at DZNE Dresden, will receive 120,000 euros for his project "Individuality of immune and microglial response in Alzheimer's disease". In this project, he and his research group study the basic neurobiological mechanisms that affect lifestyle in relation to Alzheimer's disease and healthy ageing. The project will run for three years. The grants will cover the salaries of a medical student and a young scientist.

The official award ceremony took place recently in Munich. We congratulate our three successful scientists!