Human brain–blood vessel chip to reveal how genes and aging affect Alzheimer's risk
Developing a microfluidic human neurovascular unit system to investigate genetic and age-related risk factors in Alzheimer's disease
The team will build a tiny human brain blood-vessel device using patient stem cells and blood to see how genes and aging change Alzheimer’s-related blood–brain barrier function.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Columbia University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11297719 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
I could help by donating blood or plasma so researchers can flow real human samples through a lab-grown 'neurovascular unit' chip that mimics brain blood vessels and support cells. The team will turn human pluripotent stem cells into brain endothelial cells, pericytes, and astrocytes, introduce Alzheimer-linked gene changes with CRISPR, and run blood or plasma from young and aged donors through the device. They will compare gene activity in the chip to transcriptome data from real Alzheimer's brains to separate genetic from age-related effects. The model is meant to reveal how microvascular and blood–brain barrier breakdown contributes to Alzheimer’s and to provide a human platform for testing future therapies.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal contributors would include adults with Alzheimer's disease, older adults without dementia, and younger healthy volunteers willing to provide blood or plasma or to donate cells for stem-cell derivation.
Not a fit: People looking for immediate treatment or clinical benefit are unlikely to benefit directly, since this is a laboratory model rather than a therapeutic trial.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify blood–brain barrier mechanisms and targets that speed development of treatments to protect brain vessels in people with or at risk for Alzheimer's.
How similar studies have performed: Related organ-on-chip and stem-cell models have provided useful insights into brain vascular biology, but combining CRISPR-edited human stem cells with aged patient blood to model Alzheimer’s vascular risk is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- Columbia University Health Sciences — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sproul, Andrew Alexander — Columbia University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Sproul, Andrew Alexander
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 below.