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Previous Grant Recipients
Pilot Grant Recipients
| Name & Institution | Title | Amount | Category |
| 2023 | |||
| Eline Bunnik, PhD Erasmus Medical Center |
An ethical framework for disclosure of onset-predicting biomarkers in frontotemporal dementia | $93,300 | Well-Being in FTD |
| Zevik Melamed Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
Synthetic promoter screening to uncover determinants of FTD pathology | $110,000 | Pathways for Hope |
| Daniel Mordes UCSF |
Defining the role of TBK1 loss-of-function in FTD | $110,000 | Pathways for Hope |
| Steven Boeynaems Baylor College of Medicine |
Aberrant protein condensation as a driver of neuroinflammation in ALS/FTD | $110,000 | Pathways for Hope |
| 2022 | |||
| Alinka Fisher, PhD Flinders University |
Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) for individuals with frontotemporal dementia: increasing service and family capacity through a mentoring and training model | $60,000 | Well-Being in FTD |
| Alexandru Iordan, PhD University of Michigan |
Social Network Neuromodulation in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia | $109,784 | Well-Being in FTD |
| Aaron Burberry, PhD Case Western Reserve University |
Bacterial triggers of neural inflammation in C9ORF72-FTD locus | $60,000 | Pathways for Hope |
| Meysam Yazdankhah, PhD Regenerative Research Foundation |
Co-promoting autophagy and proteasome function to lower tau in FTD neurons | $60,000 | Pathways for Hope |
| 2021 | |||
| Allison Lindauer, PhD Oregon Health & Science University |
STELLA-FTD: using technology to support FTD caregivers | $59,689 | Well-Being in FTD |
| Maria Catarina Silva, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital |
Mechanisms of AMPK-mediated rescue of tauopathy in human FTD neuronal models | $60,000 | Basic Science |
| 2020 | |||
| Andrew Arrant, PhD University of Alabama at Birmingham |
Investigating the role of lysosomal progranulin in FTD locus | $60,000 | Basic Science |
| David Butler, PhD Regenerative Research Foundation |
Optimization of bifunctional anti-tau intracellular antibody delivery into human neurons locus | $60,000 | Susan Marcus Translational Research |
| 2019 | |||
| Linda Wilson, PhD Drexel University |
Improving the ability of family caregivers to care for persons living with frontotemporal dementia through an innovative simulation program | $60,000 | Nonpharmacological Therapies and Tools |
| Liam Chen, MD, PhD Johns Hopkins University |
Identification of target genes regulated by TDP-43 in human FTD brains | $60,000 | Susan Marcus Translational Research |
| 2018 | |||
| Paschalis Kratsios, PhD University of Chicago |
A C. elegans model to study the disease- producing effects of dipeptide repeats from the C9ORF72 locus | $60,000 | Basic Science |
| Lauren Massimo, PhD, CRNP University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing |
Development of a goal-directed behavior app: Changing apathyinto action in frontotemporal degeneration | $60,000 | Nonpharmacological Therapies and Tools |
| 2017 | |||
| Todd Cohen, PhD University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill |
Accelerated tau pathogenesis in a new mouse model of frontotemporal dementia | $60,000 | Basic Science |
| Haakon Nygaard, MD University of British Columbia |
Ambulatory assessment of sleep disorders in frontotemporal dementia | $60,000 | Clinical Research |
| 2016 | |||
| Maria Llorens-Martín, PhD CIBERNED |
Tau and adult neurogenesis. Therapeutic potential for frontotemporal degeneration | $60,000 | Basic Science |
| Paola Caroppo, MD, PhD IRCCS Foundation Carlo Besta Neurological Institute |
Detection of misfolded TDP-43 protein in CSF and plasma of GRN and C9orf72 mutation carriers | $60,000 | Clinical Research |
| 2015 | |||
| Sandra Almeida, PhD University of Massachusetts |
Reducing repeat toxicity in iPSC-derived cortical neurons of C9ORF72 FTD patients | $60,000 | Basic Science |
| Roy Hamilton, MD University of Pennsylvania |
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a treatment for primary progressive aphasia | $60,000 | Clinical Research |
| 2014* | |||
| Thomas Kukar, PhD Emory University |
Identification of the signaling receptor that mediates the neurotrophic activity of progranulin (PGRN) | $60,000 | Basic Science |
| Jennifer Yokoyama, PhD UCSF |
RNA signatures of frontotemporal dementia and ALS due to C9ORF72 expansion | $60,000 | Clinical Research |
| 2013 | |||
| Emily Rogalski, PhD Northwestern University |
Internet-based speech therapy: Improving quality of life and access to care | $60,000 | - |
| 2012 | |||
| No award | |||
| 2011 | |||
| Fenghua Hu, PhD Cornell University |
Signaling mechanisms of progranulin | $60,000 | - |
| 2010 | |||
| Stephen Strittmatter, MD Yale University |
Imaging the role of progranulin interaction with sortilin in frontotemporal lobar degeneration | $60,000 | - |
| Stephanie Cosentino, MD Columbia University |
Early indicator and modifiers of age of onset in FTD | $30,000 | - |
| 2009 | |||
| John van Swieten, PhD Erasmus Medical Center |
Resting-state functional MRI in presymptomatic mutation carriers of MAPT or PGRN mutation | $60,000 | - |
| 2008 | |||
| Mark Gluck, PhD Rutgers University – Newark |
Insensitivity to negative (penalizing) feedback for inappropriate behaviors in FTD linked to orbito-frontal dysfunction | $60,000 | - |
| Rosa Rademakers, PhD Mayo Clinic-Jacksonville |
MicroRNA dysregulation in frontotemporal lobar degeneration | $60,000 | - |
| 2007 | |||
| Marc Cruts, PhD University of Antwerp |
Gene identification in a novel Mendelian FTLD-MND locus | $60,000 | - |
| J. Paul Taylor, MD University of Pennsylvania |
Assessing the molecular genetics of TDP-43-related neurodegeneration using a Drosophila model | $60,000 | - |
| 2006 | |||
| Blair Leavitt, MD; Co-PI: Ian Mackenzie, MD University of British Columbia |
Generation of a mouse model of familial FTD caused by progranulin mutations | $50,000 | - |
| 2005 | |||
| Eileen Biggio, MD Northwestern University |
Ubiquitinated proteins found in the “inclusions” that characterize brain cells in FTLD-MND | $35,000 | - |
*First year for independent awards in two categories: Basic Science and Clinical Research
Postdoctoral Fellowship Recipients
| Name & Institution | Title | Amount | Mentor |
| 2023-2025 | |||
| Marc Shenouda, PhD University of Toronto |
Targeting TDP-43 aggregation as therapeutics for ALS/FTD | $120,000 | |
| 2020-2022 | |||
| Suborno Jati, PhD Regents of the University of California |
Deciphering the consequence of ChromograninA (CgA) depletion in tauopathy | $120,000 | |
| Julia llorens, PhD University of Antwerp |
Long-read transcriptomics in FTLD-TDP to aid int he identification of novel biomarkers and mechanistic insights | $119,947 | |
| Eric Anderson, PhD University of Pittsburgh |
Investigating O-glycosylation modification in C9ORF72 FTD/ALS pathogenesis | $120,000 | |
| 2021 - 2023 | |||
| Daniel Okobi, MD, PhD University of California, Los Angeles |
Neuronal network dysfunction in neurodegenerative disease | $120,000 | |
| Hijai Regina Shin, PhD University of California, Berkeley |
Dissecting the molecular consequences of C9orf72 loss in lysosomal homeostasis and ALS-FTD disease pathogenesis | $120,000 | |
| Matthew Nolan, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital |
Modulating TDP-43-dependent loss of STMN2 in FTD | $120,000 | |
| 2019 - 2021 | |||
| Oriol Dols Icardo, PhD Institut de Recerca de l’Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau |
Identification of an RNA-based biomarker for FTD | $110,000 | |
| Ming-Yuan Su, PhD The Regents of the University of California |
A structural approach to rescuing C9orf72 haploinsufficiency in ALS/FTD | $110,000 | |
| 2017 - 2019 | |||
| Kathryn Bowles, PhD Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai |
Identification and validation of novel MAPT splicing factors and RNA-binding proteins | $110,000 | Alison Goate, PhD |
| Joseph-Patrick Clarke, PhD University of Pittsburgh |
Nucleocytoplasmic transport defects perturb granular flux In FTD | $110,000 | Chris Donnelly, PhD |
| 2015 - 2017 | |||
| Hilary Archbold, PhD University of Michigan |
RNA dysfunction in frontotemporal dementia | $110,000 | Sami Barmada, MD, PhD |
| Maya Lichtenstein, MD University of British Columbia/Geisinger Health System |
Developing a risk assessment tool for discriminating social cognition deficits in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia from that of depression | $110,000 | Howard Feldman, MD |
| 2013 - 2015 | |||
| M. Catarina Silva, PhD MGH |
Chemical neurobiology of tauopathy patient ip sc-derived neurons | $110,000 | Stephen Haggarty, PhD |
| 2011 - 2013 | |||
| Alexandra Nicholson, PhD Mayo Clinic-Jacksonville |
TMEM106B and related family members in progranulin biology | $110,000 | Rosa Rademakers, PhD |
| 2009 - 2011 | |||
| Todd Cohen, PhD University of Pennsylvania |
TDP-43 acetylation and its link to frontotemporal dementia | $110,000 | Virginia M.-Y. Lee, PhD |
Clinical Research Training Scholarship in FTD
| Name | Institution | Title |
| 2022 | ||
| Indira García Cordero, PhD | University of Toronto | Multimodal evidence of the role of Alzheimer’s disease pathology in corticobasal and progressive supranuclear palsy syndromes |
AFTD-ADDF Accelerating Drug Discovery for FTD
| Name | Institution | Title |
| 2023 | ||
| Jeffrey Rothstein, MD, PhD | Johns Hopkins School of Medicine 2023 |
Mitigating TDP-43 loss of function and disease initiation in FTD thru repair of the Nuclear Pore and CHMP7/ESCRT3 dysfunction |
| 2022 | ||
| Robert Williams, PhD | Pelagos Pharmaceuticals 2022 |
Selecting lead candidate REV-ERB agonist for the treatment of FTD |
| 2022 | ||
| Ana Martinez, PhD | Ankar Pharmaceuticals | TTBK1 inhibitors as new therapeutic approach for FTD and other related disorders |
| 2021 | ||
| Anna Orr, PhD | Cornell University | Lead optimization of novel site-selective blockers of mitochondrial complex III ROS as FTD therapeutics |
| 2020 | ||
| Wen-Hsuan Chang, PhD | AcuraStem Inc. | Development of PIKFYVE antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) treatment for FTD |
| 2019 | ||
| Deiter Edbauer | Deutchen Zentrums für Neudegenerative Erkankungen DZNE | Preclinical efficacy study for antibody therapy in C9orf72 FTD/ALS mice |
| 2018 | ||
| Steven Finkbeiner, MD, PhD | J. David Gladstone Institute | Novel human FTLD neuron and microglia cell models for drug discovery |
| Luana Fioriti | Plico Biotech | SUMO2 mimetics as innovative inhibtors of tau toxicity in pre-clinical models of frontotemproal dementia |
| John Kent Werner, MD, PhD | Cogentis Therapeutics | Preclinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of CT-526 in the tauopathy mouse model |
| 2017 | ||
| Thomas Kukar, PhD | Emory University | Rescue of lysosomal dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration by lysosomal GRN-2 in a mouse model of PGRN deficiency and Frontotemporal Dementia |
| 2015 - 2017 | ||
| Xinglong Wang, PhD | Case Western Reserve University | Mitochondrial TDP-43 as a Novel Therapeutic Target for FTD |
| Justin Ichida, PhD | University of Southern California | A novel neuroprotective compound targeting endogenous function of C9ORF72 in vivo |
| 2015 | ||
| Mari DeMarco, PhD | University of British Columbia | Quantitation of TDP-43 isoforms in CSF by mass spectroscopy |
| Edward Huey, MD | Columbia University Medical Center | Low-dose lithium for the treatment of behavioral symptoms of FTD |
| Keith St. Lawrence, PhD | Lawson Health Research Institute | The role of perfusion MRI in improving the diagnosis of FTD subtypes and longitudinal monitoring of disease progression |
| 2014 | ||
| Charlotte Teunissen, PhD | VU Medical Center in Amsterdam | Novel Diagnostic CSF Biomarkers for Pathological Subtypes of FTD |
| Matthew Disney, PhD | The Scripps Research Institute | Lead Optimization and Pre-clinical Testing of Small Molecules that Modulate Toxicity of cFTD/ALS |
| 2013 | ||
| Jeffrey Rothstein, MD, PhD | Johns Hopkins University | FTD C9ORF72 Based Biomarkers for Antisense-based Drug Discovery Validation |
| Donald Lo, PhD | Duke University | Brain slice screen for microRNA-targeted drug lead candidates for tau-associated FTD |
| 2012 | ||
| Jeffrey Rothstein, MD, PhD | Johns Hopkins University | Development of antisense therapy and therapeutic biomarker for C9orf72 FTD/ALS mutation patients |
| Nigel Cairns, FRCPath, PhD | Washington University, St. Louis | Restoring progranulin in frontotemporal disease |
| Haung Yu, PhD | Columbia University | Development of small molecule enhancers of autophagy for the clearance of protein aggregates and treatment of FTD |
| 2011 | ||
| Adam Boxer, MD, PhD | UCSF | Biomarker Optimization for Progranulin Trials |
| William Seeley, MD | UCSF | Dynamic disease-monitoring network biomarkers for tracking frontotemporal dementia |
| Charlotte Teunissen, PhD | VU University Medical Center | Identification of novel discriminatory CSF biomarkers for different FTD subtypes by proteomics |
| 2010 | ||
| William Hu, MD | Emory University | CSF Biomarkers of FTLD-TDP and FTLD-Tau — A Multi-Center Study |
| Allen Roses, MD | Duke University | Fine-mapping and characterization of genetic biomarkers that facilitate the acceleration of drug discovery for frontotemporal dementias |
| Marcel Verbeek, PhD, MSc | Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior Radboud University |
TDP-43 and tau as cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to discriminate frontotemporal dementia subtypes |
| Victor Villemagne, MD | Austin Health | [18F]-THK523, a novel in vivo tau imaging agent |
| 2009 | ||
| Einar Sigurdsson, PhD | New York University | Passive Immunotherapy for Frontotemporal Dementia |
| Philip van Damme, MD, PhD | KU Leuven | Drug Discovery for Progranulin-Mediated Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration |
| Haung Yu, PhD | Columbia University | Tau Clearance by Autophagy |
| 2008 | ||
| Adam Boxer, MD, PhD | UCSF | A Pilot Clinical Trial of NAP (AL-108) for Corticobasal Degeneration and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration with Predicted Corticobasal Degeneration Pathology |
| Gabriela Chiosis, PhD | Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center | Hsp90 inhibitors in tauopathies: in vivo pre-clinical development |
| Virginia Y.-M. Lee, PhD | University of Pennsylvania | Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD) biomarker assays |
| 2007 | ||
| Ben Bahr, PhD | University of North Carolina at Pembroke | In vitro testing of new lysosomal modulatory drugs for reducing tau aggregates in a hippocampal slice model |
| Einar Sigurdsson, PhD | New York University | Clearance of Pathological Tau Conformers |
| Tara Spires-Jones, DPhil | Massachusetts General Hospital | Sirtuins as modifiers of neurodegeneration in a mouse model of frontotemporal dementia |
| David Vocadlo, PhD | Simon Fraser University | Optimization of Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Properties of a Small Molecule O-glycosylation Inhibitor for Treatment of Frontotemporal Dementia |
AFTD-ADDF Diagnostics Accelerator
| Name | Institution | Title |
| 2021 | ||
| Matthew Pase, PhD | Monash University | Plasma neuroinflammatory biomarkers for the diagnosis of dementia subtypes |
FTD Biomarkers Initiative
| Name | Institution | Title |
| 2019 | ||
| Anthony Fitzpatrick, PhD | Columbia University Medical Center | Cryo-electron microscopy of brain-derived TDP-43 filaments to rationally design PET ligands for FTD |
| Leonard Petrucelli, PhD | Mayo Clinic Jacksonville | Assessing poly(GP) proteins as clinical and pharmacodynamic biomarkers of C9ORF72-associated FTD |
| Magdalini Polymenidou, PhD | University of Zurich, Switzerland | Targeting structural alterations of TDP-43 and other proteins to develop biomarkers for FTLD subtypes |
| 2018 | ||
| Tammaryn Lashley, MD, PhD | UCL Institute of Neurology | Accelerating tau PET imaging through head to head comparison of novel radiotracers |
| Adam Boxer, MD, PhD and Howie Rosen, MD | University of California San Francisco | Individualized clinical and MRI endpoints for clinical trials in frontotemporal lobar degeneration, a pilot study |
| Tim Miller, MD, PhD | Washington University St. Louis | Generation of a PET tracer for TDP-43 aggregates for ALS and FTD |
| 2016 | ||
| Randall Bateman, MD | Washington University in St. Louis | Human CNS tau kinetics in tauopathies |
| Christian Haass, PhD | Ludwig-Maximilians University and DZNE | Assessing poly(GP) proteins as clinical and pharmacodynamic biomarkers of C9orf72-associated FTD |
| Leonard Petrucelli, PhD | Mayo Clinic – Jacksonville | Identification of novel biofluid markers of tau and TDP-43 pathology |
| Jonathan Rohrer, MD | University College London | Idenitification of novel biofluid markers of tau & TDP43 |
| Judith Steen, PhD | Boston Children's Hospital |
|
Target ALS Partnership
| Name | Institution | Title |
| 2020 | ||
| James Shorter, PhD, MA | Merck | Identification of small molecule inhibitors of TDP-43 liquid-liquid phase separation |
| Mark Kankel | Biogen | Poly(GR) and poly(GA) as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in C9ORF72-ALS/FTD |
| Janice Kranz | Eikonzio Therapeutics | Mechanistic Validation of HDAC6 inhibitors as disease-modifying therapeutic for ALS and FTD |
| Matthew Disney, PhD | Expansion Therapeutics | Small Molecules Interacting with RNA (SMiRNA) as a Therapeutic Strategy for C9ALS/FTD |
| Dominique Cheneval | Novation Pharmaceuticals | Targeting G3BP1 and the stress granule response as a therapy for ALS & FTD |
| Daniel Elbaum, PhD | QurAlis | Antisense Oligonucleotides to Restore Expression of Full Length Stathmin 2 in Sporadic ALS: Background Biology and Rationale |
Treat FTD Fund
| Name | Institution | Title |
| 2022 | ||
| Anne-Marie Li-Kwai-Cheung | Wave Life Sciences | Wave Life Sciences: A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Phase 1b/2a Study of WVE-004 Administered Intrathecally to Patients with C9orf72-associated Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) |
| 2021 | ||
| Paul Edison, MD | Imperial College London | Evaluating the effects of GLP-1 analog, oral semaglutide, as a treatment for sporadic behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) |
| 2020 | ||
| Giacomo Koch | Santa Lucia Foundation | Dopaminergic Therapy for Frontotemporal Dementia Patients |
| 2017 | ||
| Barbara Borroni | University of Brescia | Non-invasive brain stimulation to restore cortical plasticity |
Ad Hoc Grants
| Name and Institution | Project | Grant |
| 2021 | ||
| Megan Barker
Columbia University Medical Center |
FTD Insights Survey: Community Insights on Living with FTD and Clinical Trial Willingness | FTD Insights Fellowship Grant |
| 2016 | ||
| James Galvin, MD, MPH
Florida Atlantic University |
Economic Burden of FTD | Economic Burden Study Grant |
| Gil Rabinovici, MD
University of California San Francisco |
Clinicopathological validation of the Tau PET Tracer [18F] AV | Tau PET Imaging Grant |
