Causes of harmful tau clumps in Alzheimer’s
Official title: Drivers of Pathological Tau Aggregation
Funded at University of California Santa Barbara · NIH-11302675 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are trying to recreate the exact forms of tau protein clumps seen in Alzheimer’s so we can learn how they begin and spread and speed up better tests and treatments for people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Santa Barbara NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Santa Barbara, United States) |
| Project start | April 15, 2017 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $676,577 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG056058-10 |
| Project ID | NIH-11302675 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with Alzheimer’s disease or related tauopathies who are willing to donate biological samples or brain tissue through a brain bank or research program would be most relevant to this work.
✕Less likely to help
Patients seeking immediate treatment or those without tau-related disease likely would not see direct clinical benefit from this laboratory research in the short term.
What this research studies
This project works in the lab to copy the specific shapes of tau protein clumps that are found in people who had Alzheimer’s or other tau-related diseases. Scientists use high-resolution images from patient brain tissue and try to rebuild those same clumps in test tubes and cells to see what makes tau fold the wrong way. They will also look for the cellular and molecular triggers that cause normal tau to misfold and seed aggregation. The goal is to create validated lab models that match the real disease so new drugs and imaging tests can be screened more reliably.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could create accurate lab models of disease tau that help develop better treatments and diagnostic tools more quickly.
How similar studies have gone: Solving patient tau structures by cryo-EM has been done, but recreating those exact disease-specific tau clumps outside the human brain is largely unproven and remains a novel challenge.
Where this research is happening
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University of California Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kosik, Kenneth Stephen — University of California Santa Barbara
- Study coordinator: Kosik, Kenneth Stephen
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.