Using AI to find existing medicines that could help Alzheimer's disease
Official title: AI-Powered Quantitative Systems Pharmacology for AD Drug Repurposing
Funded at Northeastern University · NIH-11467097 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Using advanced artificial intelligence to search for approved drugs that might work for people with Alzheimer's disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northeastern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2017 |
| Project end | February 29, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $662,161 |
| NIH project number | 7R01AG057555-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11467097 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People living with Alzheimer's disease — especially those in earlier stages or with available genetic or biomarker data — would be the eventual candidates for treatments prioritized by this platform.
✕Less likely to help
People without Alzheimer's, without relevant molecular/biomarker data, or those with very advanced dementia are unlikely to see direct benefit from this research immediately.
What this research studies
This project uses AI to analyze genetic, molecular, and other large-scale data from people with Alzheimer's and laboratory studies to predict which existing medicines could affect disease processes. The team combines machine learning, biophysics, and systems-biology models to map how chemicals interact with proteins and pathways linked to Alzheimer's. The platform prioritizes drug candidates for follow-up testing and helps explain how a drug might work in different patients. Results are intended to guide future lab experiments and clinical trials aimed at better-targeted treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could speed up identification of approved drugs that might slow or modify Alzheimer's biology and shorten the time to clinical testing.
How similar studies have gone: Previous drug-repurposing and AI-guided efforts have produced candidate drugs but clinical success for Alzheimer's has been limited, making this integrated AI-QSP approach relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Northeastern University
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Xie, Lei — Northeastern University
- Study coordinator: Xie, Lei
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.