Supporting ‘brightest’ dementia researchers
Twenty five of Australia’s best and brightest dementia researchers have been awarded a share in $2.4 million by the Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation (AADRF), thanks to the efforts of community donors and fundraisers who have helped fund this year’s AADRF dementia research grants program.
Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation chair, Scientia Professor Henry Brodaty AO.
The Foundation’s chair, Scientia Professor Henry Brodaty AO, says: “There was very strong demand for these awards from the research sector this year, and our rigorous assessment process means that we are supporting the very best and brightest new and early career dementia researchers.
“The research grants and fellowships are supporting the next generation of Australian dementia researchers who will be among those making the breakthroughs in understanding and treatment of dementia in the future. The support our Foundation receives from the community to allow us to do this work really is testament to how important dementia is to the people of this nation.”
One of this year’s grant recipients is Dr Donna McCade, from the Brain and Mind Research Institute, at the University of Sydney. She was awarded a $50,000 project grant to assess whether a nasal spray containing a specific hormone will alleviate some of the symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
“We know that people with Alzheimer’s disease often show impaired social cognition, including their ability to recognise emotions in others. This in turn affects social skills, relationships, behavioural disturbances and can have an impact on carers,” Dr McCade says.
“Previous research suggests that intranasal administration of oxytocin can improve recognition of facial emotions in healthy adults, but this has never tested in people with Alzheimer’s disease,” she says.
“With a treatment and cure for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia still potentially years or even decades away, I am hopeful that my research will be able to help those living with the condition today and just as importantly alleviate the impact felt by carers when caring for a person with behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.”
Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation is the research arm of Alzheimer’s Australia which funds and supports Australia’s talented new and early career dementia researchers to help people living with dementia and their families.
