Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia pose an ever-increasing public health concern as the population ages, affecting more than 6 million Americans. Both conditions are characterized by the accumulation of specific proteins in the brain. Veena Prahlad, Associate Professor of Biology, is part of one of four teams selected by the Iowa Neuroscience Institute to carry out a Research Program of Excellence over the next three years. Their team, "Sleep, Mood, and Arousal in Alzheimer's disease and Lewy Body Dementia: Serotonin Hypothesis (SMASH)," seeks to identify the anatomical origins of this protein buildup as well as clinical biomarkers of early-stage disease. Earlier diagnosis may enable interventions that slow or stop cognitive and memory impairments.

The grants, funded by the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, will help the research teams lay the necessary groundwork for obtaining major national funding, including grants from the National Institutes of Health. The program also aims to build and foster diverse teams of talented investigators whose collaborative work will accelerate the pace of discovery.

For more information about the teams and projects, click on the link below.