Mapping molecules that make some brain cells vulnerable in Alzheimer's
Official title: Mass spectrometry and multiplexed immunofluorescence imaging of metabolic and proteomic contributors to selective neuronal vulnerability in Alzheimer's disease
Funded at University of Rhode Island · NIH-11384768 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Using advanced imaging on donated brain tissue from people with Alzheimer's and controls to map metabolic and protein changes that could point to ways to detect or treat the disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Rhode Island NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Kingston, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2022 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $94,829 |
| NIH project number | 3R01AG078755-04S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11384768 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (or their families/representatives) who can enroll in a brain donation program and provide clinical history for postmortem tissue research.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking immediate symptom relief or direct experimental therapies will not benefit directly because the study analyzes postmortem tissue to learn disease mechanisms.
What this research studies
This project examines postmortem brain tissue donated by people who had Alzheimer's and by people without dementia, comparing a vulnerable area (prefrontal cortex) with a relatively spared area (primary visual cortex). Researchers will use mass spectrometry imaging to locate small molecules and proteins, and multiplexed immunofluorescence to see cell-level and microenvironment changes in the same samples. The team will combine and align the two kinds of images to find molecular and cellular patterns linked to neuron vulnerability and disease stage, including links to genetic risk. The work will generate a detailed dataset of changes across regions, layers, and cells that may point to detection markers or intervention targets.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reveal biomarkers or molecular targets that help detect Alzheimer's earlier or guide future treatments to protect vulnerable neurons.
How similar studies have gone: Prior proteomics and imaging work has revealed Alzheimer's-related molecular changes, but the combined mass spectrometry imaging plus multiplexed immunofluorescence approach across brain regions at this scale is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Varghese, Merina Thekenangarpadiyil — University of Rhode Island
- Study coordinator: Varghese, Merina Thekenangarpadiyil
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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.