Personalized computer 'digital twins' to find Alzheimer's drug targets and support healthy aging
Precision Medicine Digital Twins for Alzheimer’s Target and Drug Discovery and Longevity
['FUNDING_OTHER'] · CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU · NIH-11369213
This project builds personalized computer models called digital twins using human genetic and single-cell brain data to help find new drug targets and repurpose medicines for people with Alzheimer's and age-related cognitive decline.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_OTHER'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (CLEVELAND, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11369213 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
The team combines large human genome datasets, single-cell brain maps (the Alzheimer's Cell Atlas), and AI tools to create personalized digital twin models of Alzheimer's biology. They will use these models to prioritize likely causal genes and drug targets across the whole genome and across different brain cell types and to search for existing drugs that might be repurposed. The work is largely computational but grounded in human-derived samples and clinical datasets to reflect real patient biology. Successful leads would be moved into laboratory validation and could guide future clinical trials.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants would be people with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, or older adults willing to share genetic, clinical, or tissue data for research.
Not a fit: People seeking immediate symptom relief or direct access to a new treatment are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this computational discovery project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could speed discovery of disease-modifying therapies or repurposed drugs that slow or prevent Alzheimer's and enable treatments tailored to specific patient subtypes.
How similar studies have performed: Related AI and multi-omics projects have produced promising target lists and candidate repurposed drugs, but turning those findings into proven Alzheimer's treatments has been limited so far.
Where this research is happening
CLEVELAND, UNITED STATES
- CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU — CLEVELAND, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: CHENG, FEIXIONG — CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU
- Study coordinator: CHENG, FEIXIONG
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.
Conditions: Alzheimer disease dementia