AFTD Pilot Grants provide critical support for FTD investigators who have completed their training and are in the early stages of establishing an independent research career. Receiving a Pilot Grant can also lay the foundation for a lasting relationship with AFTD, with today’s awardees becoming tomorrow’s advisors, reviewers, and speakers at AFTD-hosted events.

AFTD is proud to announce two recipients in the Pathways for Hope Pilot Grant category, which supports basic and translational research:

Stephen Boeynaems, PhD, an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine, was awarded a Pathways for Hope Pilot Grant for his project titled “Aberrant protein condensation as a driver of neuroinflammation in ALS/FTD,” which will examine similarities between the mechanisms underlying naturally occurring toxins such as spider and snake venoms and the toxic dipeptide repeat proteins that result from mutations in the C9orf72 gene. He hopes to understand better how these toxic agents trigger inflammatory responses in the brain, which could lead to the development of treatments to reduce neuroinflammation.

Daniel Mordes, MD, PhD, received a Pathways for Hope Pilot Grant for his project, “Defining the role of TBK1 loss-of-function in FTD.” Dr. Mordes, an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco, will focus on another process disrupted by mutation of the C9orf72 gene, autophagy, which breaks down damaged or abnormal proteins. His project will examine a novel target for developing drugs to boost autophagy using cultured cells and a new mouse model.

AFTD also announces the recipient of the 2022 Well-Being in FTD Pilot Grant, which supports research to improve quality of life, reduce caregiver burden, and improve access to diagnosis and research participation, Alexandru Iordan, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. Dr. Iordan’s project, titled “Social network modulation in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia,” will evaluate a state-of-the-art form of brain stimulation that uses MRI to direct stimulation to a specific area of the brain; in this case, the pathways involved in understanding and responding to social cues. A positive effect on social and behavioral symptoms would support a larger follow-on trial of this novel treatment.