2018-08-01T08:22:12-05:00 2018-03-31 521511275 RAFFA PC 1899 L STREET NW SUITE 850 WASHINGTON DC 20036 990 2017-04-01 237337229 BRIGHTFOCUS FOUNDATION BRIG 3019483244 22512 GATEWAY CENTER DRIVE CLARKSBURG MD 20871 STACY PAGOS HALLER PRESIDENT/CEO 3019483244 2018-08-01 1 FRANK H SMITH P00639053 2028225000 2018-08-01 2017 2022-09-23 18:48:47Z STACY PAGOS HALLER 22512 GATEWAY CENTER DRIVE CLARKSBURG MD 20871 47461052 0 X WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG X 1973 DC BRIGHTFOCUS FOUNDATION SEEKS TO SAVE MIND AND SIGHT. 15 15 57 60 0 0 30692507 32362197 0 0 1443912 1854269 563670 688039 32700089 34904505 13366099 13475744 0 0 4668167 4985215 525378 636451 7064323 15081756 16718081 33641400 35815491 -941311 -910986 50937791 52594473 19242456 20725981 31695335 31868492 BRIGHTFOCUS FOUNDATION (BRIGHTFOCUS) DRIVES INNOVATIVE RESEARCH WORLDWIDE AND PROMOTES AWARENESS OF ALZHEIMER'S, MACULAR DEGENERATION AND GLAUCOMA. PLEASE REFER TO SCHEDULE O FOR A COMPLETE OVERVIEW OF OUR MISSION. 0 0 17302136 9257024 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH (ADR) - BRIGHTFOCUS' ADR PROGRAM FUNDS RESEARCH FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE'S CAUSES, ITS EARLY DETECTION, AND TREATMENTS TO HELP SLOW OR STOP ITS PROGRESSION, AND ULTIMATELY TO PREVENT THE DISEASE ALTOGETHER. ADR ANNUALLY AWARDS PEER-REVIEWED GRANTS TO SCIENTISTS FROM INSTITUTIONS WORLDWIDE WHO ARE CONDUCTING BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL RESEARCH ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. SINCE INCEPTION, BRIGHTFOCUS HAS CONTRIBUTED MORE THAN $118 MILLION TO THE CONQUERING OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2018, ADR FUNDED 39 NEW RESEARCH AWARDS TOTALING $9,117,024. 5229453 2319410 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH (MDR)- A PROGRAM OF BRIGHTFOCUS, HAS AWARDED MORE THAN $26 MILLION TO SCIENTISTS STUDYING THE DISEASE. THE LATEST RESEARCH IS FOCUSED ON NOVEL TREATMENTS FOR THE DISEASE, UNDERSTANDING ITS CAUSES AND PROGRESSION, DRUG THERAPIES, AND NEW SCREENING TECHNIQUES.DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING MARCH 31, 2018, MDR AWARDED $2,080,000 IN PEER-REVIEWED GRANT AWARDS TO 13 NEW RESEARCH PROJECTS. DETAILS ABOUT SPECIFIC PROJECTS ARE INCLUDED IN SCHEDULES F & I. 2676044 1899310 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH (NGR)- BRIGHTFOCUS' NGR PROGRAM HAS AWARDED MORE THAN $32 MILLION WORLDWIDE FOR THE STUDY OF GLAUCOMA. NGR-SUPPORTED RESEARCH HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON THE EYE-BRAIN CONNECTION, THE MECHANISMS FOR PRESSURE BUILDUP IN THE EYE, PREVENTING DAMAGE TO THE OPTIC NERVE, AND UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE GENES PLAY IN ORDER TO DEVELOP EARLY GLAUCOMA SCREENING AND TARGETED TREATMENTS, AMONGST OTHER INNOVATIVE PURSUITS. NGR GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE TO GLAUCOMA RESEARCHERS WORLDWIDE. NGR PLACES SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON ENCOURAGING APPLICATIONS FROM YOUNG SCIENTISTS AND THOSE WITH CUTTING-EDGE IDEAS. ANNUAL GRANT APPLICATIONS ARE PEER-REVIEWED, AND RECIPIENT SELECTIONS ARE BASED ON SCIENTIFIC MERIT. 25207633 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 172 0 1 57 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 X 15 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 AK AL AR AZ CA CT FL GA HI IL KS KY ME MD MA MI MN MO MS NC ND NH NJ NM NY OH OK OR PA RI SC TN UT VA WA WI WV X X X DAVID F MARKS CPA CMA 3019483244 22512 GATEWAY CENTER DRIVE CLARKSBURG MD 20871 SCOTT RODGVILLE CPA CHAIR 5.00 X X 0 0 0 DIANE I MARCELLO VICE CHAIR 3.00 X X 0 0 0 NICHOLAS W RAYMOND TREASURER 20.00 X X 0 0 0 JUDITH F LEE SECRETARY 4.00 X X 0 0 0 CECILIA ARRADAZA DIRECTOR 2.00 X 0 0 0 MICHAEL H BARNETT ESQ DIRECTOR 3.00 X 0 0 0 MADDY DYCHTWALD DIRECTOR 1.00 X 0 0 0 GRACE FRISONE DIRECTOR 6.00 X 0 0 0 JUNE KINOSHITA DIRECTOR 3.00 X 0 0 0 HENRY J POWNALL PHD DIRECTOR 1.00 X 0 0 0 BRIAN K REGAN PHD DIRECTOR 4.00 X 0 0 0 ELTJO ED R SCHOONVELD DIRECTOR 3.00 X 0 0 0 PATRICIA M STEWART DIRECTOR 3.00 X 0 0 0 JAN M STOUFFER PHD DIRECTOR 3.00 X 0 0 0 ETHAN TREESE DIRECTOR 3.00 X 0 0 0 STACY PAGOS HALLER PRESIDENT/CEO 55.00 X 395786 0 77821 NANCY LYNN SR. VP STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS 45.00 X 230312 0 28959 R BRIAN ELDERTON SR. VP, DEVELOPMENT 45.00 X 223015 0 38279 DAVID F MARKS CPA CMA VP, FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION 45.00 X 152620 0 61854 DIANE BOVENKAMP PHD VP, SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS 45.00 X 152385 0 25938 MICHAEL BUCKLEY VP, PUBLIC AFFAIRS 45.00 X 144280 0 45334 1298398 0 278185 6 0 1 0 RKD GROUP 201 SUMMER STREET HOLLISTON MA 01746 PUBLIC AWARENESS CONSUL. & MATERIALS 6820948 BEACONFIRE REDENGINE 2300 CLARENDON BLVD SUITE 925 ARLINGTON VA 22201 ONLINE PUBLIC AWARENESS CONSULTING 329932 DATA MANAGEMENT INC 160 STONE STREET STONEVILLE NC 27048 DATABASE MANAGEMENT 207039 RAFFA PC 1899 L STREET NW WASHINGTON DC 20036 ACCOUNTING & HUMAN RESOURCES 138675 GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS INC 2977 STEWART LOOP UNIT B FORT MEADE MD 20755 BUILDING & OFFICE SERVICES 136262 8 175615 191321 31995261 180229 32362197 667662 667662 338375 338375 635730 67471 568259 568259 568259 13430888 12244281 1186607 1186607 1186607 26200 191321 244795 -218595 -218595 34904505 0 0 2542308 11669727 11669727 1806017 1806017 1343698 768551 311892 263255 2612988 1444536 816214 352238 295248 163222 92226 39800 486617 269016 152004 65597 246664 136363 77050 33251 120505 69034 51471 83660 37995 21685 23980 636451 636451 254466 254466 1245431 1042223 130955 72253 849611 391563 228659 229389 673705 454498 142641 76566 335125 193985 106760 34380 256342 165324 60529 30489 184654 171843 8520 4291 11560 6691 3683 1186 517453 294333 154827 68293 96036 32256 56101 7679 PUB. AWARENESS POSTAGE 5569686 2806267 427395 2336024 PUB. AWARENESS PRINTING 3520850 1776998 258494 1485358 PUB. AWARENESS COMP. 1719033 860516 109608 748909 LIST RENTAL 1279964 646675 78355 554934 35815491 25207633 3543535 7064323 X 12114706 5672353 929784 5512569 1594850 2635346 326842 239243 5847688 4651980 39584 43224 321683 308170 11984567 3991974 8398877 7992593 29268444 31354433 4593490 4854970 546333 514514 50937791 52594473 272073 338902 17420470 18854761 0 109250 1549913 1423068 19242456 20725981 X 18011943 19576833 13593392 11971659 90000 320000 31695335 31868492 50937791 52594473 X -910986 599410 484733 X 0 1 X 1 0 X 25126233 27946621 29220730 30692507 32362197 145348288 25126233 27946621 29220730 30692507 32362197 145348288 145348288 1539583 1633842 1578975 1622675 1641767 8016842 153365130 51200 0.94770 0.94660 X 0 0 0 35179040 35179040 1000000 250000 0 0 1000000 1000000 1000000 1000000 4000000 6000000 250000 250000 250000 250000 1000000 1500000 90000 234806 10000 14806 320000 90000 4332 4332 90000 90000 4344 4344 90000 90000 4257 4257 90000 90000 3933 3933 90000 0.00000 1.00000 0.00000 1 0 2800000 1147363 3947363 1629400 5025641 2934539 3720502 1188310 880181 308129 193853 177254 16599 7992593 ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS - HEDGE FUND 4854970 F 4854970 CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES 1181420 RENTAL DEPOSITS 80000 CAPITAL LEASE OBLIGATIONS 161648 1423068 X 49342409 599410 13658057 361983 31141 14650591 34691818 254466 -41779 212687 34904505 49169252 13658057 31141 13689198 35480054 254466 80971 335437 35815491 PART V, LINE 4: THE EARNINGS ON THIS ENDOWMENT ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH PROGRAM, ARE RECORDED AS TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED INVESTMENT INCOME, AND ARE RELEASED AS SPENT. PART X, LINE 2: BRIGHTFOCUS PERFORMED AN EVALUATION OF UNCERTAINTY IN INCOME TAXES FOR THE YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2018, AND DETERMINED THAT THERE WERE NO MATTERS THAT WOULD REQUIRE RECOGNITION IN THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OR THAT MAY HAVE ANY EFFECT ON ITS TAX-EXEMPT STATUS. PART XI, LINE 2D - OTHER ADJUSTMENTS: SPECIAL EVENT EXPENSE 31,141. PART XI, LINE 4B - OTHER ADJUSTMENTS: DEPRECIATION ON RENTAL PROPERTY -41,779. PART XII, LINE 2D - OTHER ADJUSTMENTS: SPECIAL EVENT EXPENSE 31,141. PART XII, LINE 4B - OTHER ADJUSTMENTS: DEPRECIATION ON RENTAL PROPERTY -41,779. CHANGE IN PRESENT VALUE OF GRANTS 122,750. 1 EUROPE (INCLUDING ICELAND & GREENLAND) 0 0 GRANTMAKING 310000 NORTH AMERICA 0 0 GRANTMAKING 300000 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 0 0 GRANTMAKING 1196017 0 0 0 0 0 0 1806017 0 1806017 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY YIM LUI CAROL CHEUNG, PHD, ENTITLED:(A2018093S) 300000 WIRE EUROPE (INCLUDING ICELAND & GREENLAND) ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY SAIMA HILAL, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018165F) 150000 WIRE EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC AD RESEARCH BY STEPHANIE RAINEY-SMITH, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018402F) 149998 WIRE EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY BRETT COLLINS, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018667S) 191034 WIRE NORTH AMERICA ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY SANJEEV KUMAR, MD, FRCPC, ENTITLED: (A2018667S) 300000 WIRE EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY BENJAMIN HOGAN, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018807S) 295439 WIRE EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY YUAN LEI, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018112) 99546 WIRE EUROPE (INCLUDING ICELAND & GREENLAND) MD DISEASE RESEARCH BY FLORIAN SENNLAUB, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018096) 160000 WIRE EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY CHI LUU, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018144) 160000 WIRE 9 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 PART I, LINE 2: BRIGHTFOCUS INTERACTS WITH ALL GRANTEES AT LEAST QUARTERLY BY E-MAIL OR AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS. IN ADDITION TO THESE INTERACTIONS, EACH GRANT RECIPIENT IS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT SEPARATE DETAILED ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS AND FINANCIAL REPORTS TO BRIGHTFOCUS. THESE ARE RECEIVED BY THE BRIGHTFOCUS SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT, AND REVIEWED BY SCIENTIFIC STAFF WITH BROAD EXPERTISE IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, CELL BIOLOGY, BIOCHEMISTRY, IMAGING AND GENETICS. SENIOR STAFF REVIEWS EACH PROGRESS REPORT AND EVALUATES THE PROJECT FOR SUFFICIENT PROGRESS TOWARDS THE SPECIFIC AIMS PROPOSED IN THE ORIGINAL APPLICATION OR ANY BUDGETARY CONCERNS. THIS EFFORT IS SUPPORTED BY ADDITIONAL SCIENTIFIC COUNSEL FROM MEMBERS OF THE BRIGHTFOCUS SCIENTIFIC REVIEW COMMITTEES, WHEN REQUIRED. IN ADDITION TO STATEMENTS OF EXPERIMENTAL PROGRESS, ALL GRANTEES ARE ASKED TO REPORT ANY TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS, MEDIA REPORTS, OR PATENT APPLICATIONS IN WHICH BRIGHTFOCUS-SPONSORED RESEARCH IS DESCRIBED. IF SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS RELATED TO PROGRESS ON THE AWARDS ARE DISCOVERED, AND NOT RESOLVED AFTER INTERACTION WITH THE AWARD GRANTEE, THE BRIGHTFOCUS STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROPRIATE ACTIONS TO THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GRANT AGREEMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS, BRIGHTFOCUS MAY WITHHOLD FUNDING, OR DISCONTINUE AN AWARD, FOR ANY GRANTEE THAT FAILS TO ACHIEVE SUFFICIENT PROGRESS OR SUBMIT REQUIRED REPORTS. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE GRANT AWARD PERIOD, EACH GRANTEE MUST COMPLETE AND SUBMIT A FINAL REPORT THAT IS ALSO REVIEWED BY THE BRIGHTFOCUS SENIOR SCIENTIFIC STAFF. EVALUATION OF THE WORK OF EACH GRANTEE IS QUALITATIVELY AND QUANTITATIVELY ASSESSED THROUGH VARIOUS METRICS RELATED TO THE IMPACT OF THE GRANT ON ITS TARGETED DISEASE FIELD. SUCH IMPACT METRICS HAVE REVEALED THAT 95% OF BRIGHTFOCUS-SUPPORTED RESEARCH RESULTS IN RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS THAT ADVANCE THE FIELDS SERVED BY BRIGHTFOCUS. THIS IMPACT IS FURTHER SUPPORTED BY ANNUAL CITATION ANALYSIS THAT COMPARES BRIGHTFOCUS-SUPPORTED WORKS TO A STATISTICAL SAMPLE OF WORKS SUPPORTED BY EITHER THE US FEDERAL GVERNMENT OR THAT OF OTHER FUNDING AGENCIES. BRIGHTFOCUS-SUPPORTED PUBLICATIONS ARE CONSISTENTLY CITED AT NEARLY TWICE THE FREQUENCY OF ANY OTHER COMPARISON GROUP. A FINAL EXAMPLE OF IMPACT ASSESSMENT REVEALED THAT THE SUCCESSES OF BRIGHTFOCUS GRANTEES CONTINUE LONG AFTER THE GRANT EXPIRES. ON AVERAGE, EACH GRANTEE RECEIVES 2.2 ADDITIONAL GRANTS FOR PROJECTS SPAWNED BY THE BRIGHTFOCUS GRANT. THESE COME AT VALUES NEARLY 10 TIMES THE LEVEL OF THE INITIAL BRIGHTFOCUS INVESTMENT. BRIGHTFOCUS SOLICITS FEEDBACK FROM ITS GRANTEES, AND PROVIDES AN ANONYMOUS FORUM FOR COLLECTING SUCH INFORMATION. THROUGHOUT OUR WEBSITE AND WITHIN THE FINAL SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS REPORT, THERE ARE DESIGNATED SECTIONS WHERE AWARDEES ARE ASKED TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO THE FOUNDATION. THROUGH THIS MECHANISM, THEY ARE GIVEN THE ABILITY TO ANONYMOUSLY PROVIDE FEEDBACK OR COMMUNICATE THEIR CONCERNS TO PROGRAM STAFF OR THE BRIGHTFOCUS' COMPLIANCE OFFICE. ANY SUGGESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMPLAINTS, OR POSITIVE EXPERIENCES CAN BE OUTLINED AND BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF BRIGHTFOCUS IN THIS MANNER, SO WE MAY ADDRESS ANY AREAS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT, REAFFIRM PRAISE-WORTHY POLICIES, OR OTHERWISE ASSESS NEEDS FOR PROGRAMMATIC CHANGE. THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP PRESENTS AND SUMMARIZES THE STATUS AND PROGRESS ON GRANTS TO THE BRIGHTFOCUS BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT EACH OF THEIR QUARTERLY BOARD MEETINGS. PART I, LINE 3: BRIGHTFOCUS REPORTED THE EXPENDITURES BASED ON THE ACCOUNTING METHOD USED IN ITS AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS WHICH IS ON AN ACCRUAL BASIS. X X X X X 1 RKD GROUP 201 SUMMER ST HOLLISTON MA 07146 FUNDRAISING AND COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT 0 24286994 391845 23895149 BEACONFIRE REDENGINE 2300 CLARENDON BLVD STE 925 ARLINGTON VA 22201 FUNDRAISING AND COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT 0 1390161 244606 1145555 25677155 636451 25040704 AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC FL GA HI IL KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS NC ND NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC TN UT VA WA WI WV AN EVENING OF BRIGHTFOCUS 217521 191321 26200 22171 76768 90808 55048 217521 191321 26200 22171 76768 90808 55048 244795 -218595 SCHEDULE G, PART I, LINE 2B, COLUMN (V) IN THE CONTRACT WITH RKD GROUP, THE MANAGEMENT FEES ARE FIXED AMOUNTS PER MONTH FOR IN-SCOPE SERVICES THAT TOTALS $915,948 PER YEAR OF WHICH $524,103 HAS BEEN ALLOCATED UNDER PART XI, LINE 11(G) TO PROGRAM AND MANAGEMENT AND ARE NOT CONSIDERED TO BE THE PROFESSIONAL FUNDRAISING CONSULTANT FEE. 1 NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 303 E CHICAGO AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60611 362167817 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY CONGCONG HE, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018100S) WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ONE BROOKINGS DRIVE ST LOUIS MO 63110 430653611 501(C)(3) 150000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY CHAO WANG, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018128F) UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 207 GRINTER HALL GAINESVILLE FL 32611 596002052 501(C)(3) 150000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY CARA CROFT, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018149F) WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ONE BROOKINGS DRIVE ST LOUIS MO 63110 430653611 501(C)(3) 298335 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY TIMOTHY MILLER, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018169S) UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI MILLER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE 1320 S DIXIE HWY SUITE 650 MIAMI FL 33136 590624458 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY HOLLY CUKIER, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018197S) WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 425 S EUCLID AVENUE ST LOUIS MO 63110 430653611 501(C)(3) 295569 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JASON HASSENSTAB, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018202S) UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO 9500 GILMAN DRIVE LA JOLLA CA 92037 956006144 501(C)(3) 150000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY GOONHO PARK, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018212F) ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI ONE GUSTAVE L LEVY PLACE NEW YORK CITY NY 10029 136171197 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JOSEPH CASTELLANO, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018213S) SANFORD-BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE 10901 NORTH TORREY PINES ROAD LA JOLLA CA 98103 510197108 501(C)(3) 150000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY YINGJUN ZHAO, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018214F) ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI ONE GUSTAVE L LEVY PLACE NEW YORK CITY NY 10029 136171197 501(C)(3) 150000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY MICKAEL AUDRAIN, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018253F) THE SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES 10010 NORTH TORREY PINES ROAD LA JOLLA CA 92037 952160097 501(C)(3) 150000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY WEIWEI FAN, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018325S) WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 660 S EUCLID AVENUE ST LOUIS MO 63110 430653611 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY CELESTE KARCH, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018349S) UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO 3333 CALIFORNIA STREET SUITE 315 SAN FRANCISCO CA 94143 946036493 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY ALEX SMITH, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018351S) BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE ONE BAYLOR PLAZA HOUSTON TX 77030 741613878 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY WEI CAO, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018377S) UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE 141 INNOVATION SUITE 950 IRVINE CA 92697 952226406 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JOSHUA GRILL, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018405S) UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI 1400 NW 10TH AVENUE MIAMI FL 33136 590624458 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JEFFERY VANCE, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018425S) UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 3720 SOUTH FLOWER STREET LOS ANGELES CA 90089 951642394 501(C)(3) 150000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY SARA GALLANT, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018449F) THE RESEARCH FND FOR SUNY ON BEHALF OF UNIV AT BUFFALO THE UB COMMONS 520 LEE ENTRANCE SUITE 211 BUFFALO NY 14228 141368361 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY SHERMALI GUNAWARDENA, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018509S) UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI MILLER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE 1320 S DIXIE HWY SUITE 650 MIAMI FL 33136 590624458 501(C)(3) 150000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY FARID RAJABLI, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018556F) UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF MEDICINE 4333 BROOKLYN AVENUE NE SEATTLE WA 98195 916001534 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JESSICA YOUNG, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018656S) REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES 10889 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD SUITE 700 LOS ANGELES CA 90095 956006143 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY DANIEL GESCHWIND, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018700S) UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE 141 INNOVATION SUITE 950 IRVINE CA 92697 952226406 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY CHARLES GLABE, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018718S) MAYO CLINIC JACKSONVILLE 4500 SAN PABLO ROAD JACKSONVILLE FL 32224 593337028 501(C)(3) 150000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY NA ZHAO, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018777F) UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 3451 WALNUT STREET PHILADELPHIA PA 19104 231352685 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY ZHUOHAO HE, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018802S) THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 630 WEST 168TH STREET NEW YORK NY 10032 135598093 501(C)(3) 300000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY OTTAVIO ARANCIO, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018816S) WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 425 S EUCLID AVENUE ST LOUIS MO 63110 430653611 501(C)(3) 149029 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JEREMY STRAIN, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018817F) CARELIVING INC 3100 WEST END AVENUE SUITE 200 NASHVILLE TN 37220 823809383 N/A 75000 ALZHEIMER'S CAREGIVER AWARENESS, EDUCATION, AND SUPPORT. ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI 1425 MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK CITY NY 10029 136171197 501(C)(3) 100000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY EDOARDO MARCORA, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2017458S) HUMAN COMPUTATION INSTITUTE 12 GENUNG ROAD ITHACA NY 14850 815402321 501(C)(3) 484910 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY PIETRO MICHELUCCI, PHD, ENTITLED: (CA2017606) HUMAN COMPUTATION INSTITUTE 12 GENUNG ROAD ITHACA NY 14850 815402321 501(C)(3) 165000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY PIETRO MICHELUCCI, PHD, ENTITLED: (CA2016629) MAYO CLINIC JACKSONVILLE 4500 SAN PABLO ROAD ROOM 110 JACKSONVILLE FL 32224 593337028 501(C)(3) 60000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY ENTITLED: (CA2017563) UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 2155 E WESLEY AVENUE DENVER CO 80208 840404231 501(C)(3) 112210 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY ANN CHARLOTTE GRANHOLM-BENTLEY, PHD, ENTITLED: (CA2018010) THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER 5323 HARRY HINES BOULEVARD DALLAS TX 75390 756002868 501(C)(3) 10000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY MARK HENKEMEYER, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2016345S) MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL 55 FRUIT STREET BOSTON MA 02114 041564655 501(C)(3) 556000 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JILL GOLDSTEIN, PHD, ENTITLED: (CA2018607) OREGON HEALTH AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY 3181 SW TERWILLIGER BOULEVARD PORTLAND OR 97239 931176109 501(C)(3) 150000 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY BENJAMIN SIVYER, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018011) CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY 10900 EUCLID AVENUE CLEVELAND OH 44106 341018992 501(C)(3) 150000 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY JESSICA COOKE BAILEY, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018042) UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER 3500 CAMP BOWIE BOULEVARD FORT WORTH TX 76107 756064033 501(C)(3) 150000 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY SUCHISMITA ACHARYA, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018056) UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON 4901 CALHOUN ROAD HOUSTON TX 77204 746001399 501(C)(3) 150000 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY JASON PORTER, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018061) SUNY HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER 450 CLARKSON AVENUE BROOKLYN NY 11203 146013200 501(C)(3) 150000 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY JOHN DANIAS, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018077) UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER 5323 HARRY HINES BOULEVARD DALLAS TX 75390 042103591 501(C)(3) 149764 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY F. KENT HAMRA, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018080) UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER 930 MADISON AVENUE MEMPHIS TN 38163 621721435 501(C)(3) 150000 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY MONICA JABLONSKI, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018116) UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI MILLER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE 1320 S DIXIE HWY CORAL GABELS FL 33146 590624458 501(C)(3) 150000 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY XIANGRUN HUANG, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018148) UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON 21 N PARK STREET SUITE 6401 MADISON WI 53715 396006492 501(C)(3) 150000 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY ROBERT W. NICKELLS, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018166) UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO 845 W TAYLOR STREET DEPT OF CHEM CHICAGO IL 60607 376000511 501(C)(3) 150000 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY BIJI MATHEW, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018168) UNIVERSITY OF AKRON 302 BUCHTEL COMMON AKRON OH 44325 346002924 501(C)(3) 150000 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY ROUZBEH AMINI, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018177) STANFORD UNIVERSITY 3172 PORTER DRIVE PALO ALTO CA 94304 941156365 501(C)(3) 150000 NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY YANG HUMD, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018183) BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE ONE BAYLOR PLAZA HOUSTON TX 77030 741159753 501(C)(3) 160000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY ROSS POCHE, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018022) UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 5841 S MARYLAND AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60637 362177139 501(C)(3) 160000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY DIMITRA SKONDRA, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018042) THE SCHEPENS EYE RESEARCH INSTITUTE 20 STANIFORD STREET BOSTON MA 02114 422129889 501(C)(3) 160000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY MAGALI SAINT-GENIEZ, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018064) UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER 5323 HARRY HINES BOULEVARD DALLAS TX 75390 042103591 501(C)(3) 160000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY JOHN HULLEMAN, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018099) UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER 865 RESEARCH PARKWAY OKLAHOMA CITY OK 73104 736097060 501(C)(3) 160000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY XI-QIN DING, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018107) UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI MILLER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE 1320 S DIXIE HWY MIAMI FL 33136 590624458 501(C)(3) 160000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY WILLIAM SCOTT, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018112) MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY 243 CHARLES STREET BOSTON MA 02114 042103591 501(C)(3) 160000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY ROSARIO FERNANDEZ-GODINO, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018115) BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER 650 ALBANY STREET SUITE 527 BOSTON MA 02118 043314093 501(C)(3) 160000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY JI YI, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018132) BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE ONE BAYLOR PLAZA HOUSTON TX 77030 741159753 501(C)(3) 160000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY YINGBIN FU, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018142) UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO 9500 GILMAN DRIVE LA JOLLA CA 92093 956006144 501(C)(3) 160000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY KARL WAHLIN, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018175) UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY 109 KINKEAD HALL LEXINGTON KY 40506 616033693 501(C)(3) 160000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY MARK KLEINMAN, MD, ENTITLED: (M2018193) HELEN KELLER FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH & EDUCATION 1201 11TH AVENUE SOUTH SUITE 300 BIRMINGHAM AL 35205 630983733 501(C)(3) 75000 2017 HELEN KELLER PRIZE FOR VISION RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP. HELEN KELLER FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH & EDUCATION 1201 11TH AVENUE SOUTH SUITE 300 BIRMINGHAM AL 35205 630983733 501(C)(3) 100000 2018 HELEN KELLER PRIZE FOR VISION RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP. DEAN MCGEE EYE INSTITUTE 608 STANTON YOUNG BOULEVARD OKLAHOMA CITY OK 73104 736109395 501(C)(3) 30000 16TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON RETINAL DEGENERATION 2018 MEETING GRANT. SCHEIE EYE INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 51 N 39TH STREET PHILADELPHIA PA 19104 231352685 501(C)(3) 30000 MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY BENJAMIN KIM, MD, ENTITLED: (CM2016971) 41 1 PART I, LINE 2: BRIGHTFOCUS INTERACTS WITH ALL GRANTEES AT LEAST QUARTERLY BY E-MAIL OR AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS. IN ADDITION TO THESE INTERACTIONS, EACH GRANT RECIPIENT IS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT SEPARATE DETAILED ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS AND FINANCIAL REPORTS TO BRIGHTFOCUS. THESE ARE RECEIVED BY THE BRIGHTFOCUS SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT, AND REVIEWED BY SCIENTIFIC STAFF WITH BROAD EXPERTISE IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, CELL BIOLOGY, BIOCHEMISTRY, IMAGING AND GENETICS. SENIOR STAFF REVIEWS EACH PROGRESS REPORT AND EVALUATES THE PROJECT FOR SUFFICIENT PROGRESS TOWARDS THE SPECIFIC AIMS PROPOSED IN THE ORIGINAL APPLICATION OR ANY BUDGETARY CONCERNS. THIS EFFORT IS SUPPORTED BY ADDITIONAL SCIENTIFIC COUNSEL FROM MEMBERS OF THE BRIGHTFOCUS SCIENTIFIC REVIEW COMMITTEES, WHEN REQUIRED. IN ADDITION TO STATEMENTS OF EXPERIMENTAL PROGRESS, ALL GRANTEES ARE ASKED TO REPORT ANY TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS, MEDIA REPORTS, OR PATENT APPLICATIONS IN WHICH BRIGHTFOCUS-SPONSORED RESEARCH IS DESCRIBED. IF SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS RELATED TO PROGRESS ON THE AWARDS ARE DISCOVERED, AND NOT RESOLVED AFTER INTERACTION WITH THE AWARD GRANTEE, THE BRIGHTFOCUS STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROPRIATE ACTIONS TO THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GRANT AGREEMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS, BRIGHTFOCUS MAY WITHHOLD FUNDING, OR DISCONTINUE AN AWARD, FOR ANY GRANTEE THAT FAILS TO ACHIEVE SUFFICIENT PROGRESS OR SUBMIT REQUIRED REPORTS. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE GRANT AWARD PERIOD, EACH GRANTEE MUST COMPLETE AND SUBMIT A FINAL REPORT THAT IS ALSO REVIEWED BY THE BRIGHTFOCUS SENIOR SCIENTIFIC STAFF. EVALUATION OF THE WORK OF EACH GRANTEE IS QUALITATIVELY AND QUANTITATIVELY ASSESSED THROUGH VARIOUS METRICS RELATED TO THE IMPACT OF THE GRANT ON ITS TARGETED DISEASE FIELD. SUCH IMPACT METRICS HAVE REVEALED THAT 95% OF BRIGHTFOCUS-SUPPORTED RESEARCH RESULTS IN RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS THAT ADVANCE THE FIELDS SERVED BY BRIGHTFOCUS. THIS IMPACT IS FURTHER SUPPORTED BY ANNUAL CITATION ANALYSIS THAT COMPARES BRIGHTFOCUS-SUPPORTED WORKS TO A STATISTICAL SAMPLE OF WORKS SUPPORTED BY EITHER THE US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OR THAT OF OTHER FUNDING AGENCIES. BRIGHTFOCUS-SUPPORTED PUBLICATIONS ARE CONSISTENTLY CITED AT NEARLY TWICE THE FREQUENCY OF ANY OTHER COMPARISON GROUP. A FINAL EXAMPLE OF IMPACT ASSESSMENT REVEALED THAT THE SUCCESSES OF BRIGHTFOCUS GRANTEES CONTINUE LONG AFTER THE GRANT EXPIRES. ON AVERAGE, EACH GRANTEE RECEIVES 2.2 ADDITIONAL GRANTS FOR PROJECTS SPAWNED BY THE BRIGHTFOCUS GRANT. THESE COME AT VALUES NEARLY 10 TIMES THE LEVEL OF THE INITIAL BRIGHTFOCUS INVESTMENT. BRIGHTFOCUS SOLICITS FEEDBACK FROM ITS GRANTEES, AND PROVIDES AN ANONYMOUS FORUM FOR COLLECTING SUCH INFORMATION. THROUGHOUT OUR WEBSITE AND WITHIN THE FINAL SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS REPORT, THERE ARE DESIGNATED SECTIONS WHERE AWARDEES ARE ASKED TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO THE FOUNDATION. THROUGH THIS MECHANISM, THEY ARE GIVEN THE ABILITY TO ANONYMOUSLY PROVIDE FEEDBACK OR COMMUNICATE THEIR CONCERNS TO PROGRAM STAFF OR THE BRIGHTFOCUS' COMPLIANCE OFFICE. ANY SUGGESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMPLAINTS, OR POSITIVE EXPERIENCES CAN BE OUTLINED AND BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF BRIGHTFOCUS IN THIS MANNER, SO WE MAY ADDRESS ANY AREAS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT, REAFFIRM PRAISE-WORTHY POLICIES, OR OTHERWISE ASSESS NEEDS FOR PROGRAMMATIC CHANGE. THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP PRESENTS AND SUMMARIZES THE STATUS AND PROGRESS ON GRANTS TO THE BRIGHTFOCUS BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT EACH OF THEIR QUARTERLY BOARD MEETINGS. X X X X X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 STACY PAGOS HALLER PRESIDENT/CEO 348215 0 45000 0 2571 0 40500 0 37321 0 473607 0 0 0 NANCY LYNN SR. VP STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS 229280 0 0 0 1032 0 4994 0 23965 0 259271 0 0 0 R BRIAN ELDERTON SR. VP, DEVELOPMENT 221431 0 0 0 1584 0 15203 0 23076 0 261294 0 0 0 DAVID F MARKS CPA CMA VP, FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION 151588 0 0 0 1032 0 24581 0 37273 0 214474 0 0 0 DIANE BOVENKAMP PHD VP, SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS 152025 0 0 0 360 0 22804 0 3134 0 178323 0 0 0 MICHAEL BUCKLEY VP, PUBLIC AFFAIRS 143920 0 0 0 360 0 22611 0 22723 0 189614 0 0 0 PART I, LINE 7 AS THE PRESIDENT/CEO'S BONUS WAS NOT A FIXED PAYMENT SPECIFIED IN HER EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT, THIS ITEM HAS BEEN ANSWERED 'YES' IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE INSTRUCTIONS. HOWEVER, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT HER BONUS WAS A NON-FIXED PAYMENT BASED ON BRIGHTFOCUS' INTERNAL PROCEDURES. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS CONSIDERS THE AWARD OF A DISCRETIONARY BONUS EACH YEAR. THE DETERMINATION OF THE BONUS COMPENSATION IS CAPPED AS SPECIFIED IN HER EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT, AND IF NOT WARRANTED WILL NOT BE AWARDED AT ALL. THE DETERMINATION IS MADE BY THE FULL BOARD UPON RECOMMENDATION OF ITS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REVIEW OF PRESIDENT/CEO COMPENSATION. THE COMMITTEE CONSIDERS A SET OF GOALS FOR THE PRESIDENT/CEO'S PERFORMANCE DEVELOPED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR IN CONSULTATION WITH THE PRESIDENT/CEO. EACH GOAL IS EVALUATED AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE GOAL HAS BEEN MET OR EXCEEDED. THE BONUS IS AWARDED BASED ON A DETAILED REVIEW BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WHETHER EACH GOAL HAS BEEN MET OR EXCEEDED. X 19 180229 FMV 0 1 0 PART I, COLUMN (B): BRIGHTFOCUS REPORTS THE NUMBER OF CONTRIBUTIONS IN PART I, COLUMN (B). FORM 990, PART III, LINE 1, DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION MISSION: BRIGHTFOCUS FOUNDATION DRIVES INNOVATIVE RESEARCH WORLDWIDE AND PROMOTES AWARENESS OF ALZHEIMER'S, MACULAR DEGENERATION, AND GLAUCOMA. OUR VISION IS LIVING FREE FROM DISEASES OF MIND AND SIGHT. COLLECTIVELY, 1 IN 16 PEOPLE OVER THE AGE OF 40 IN THE U.S. HAS ONE OF THESE DISEASES. BRIGHTFOCUS HAS A PROVEN TRACK RECORD OF SUPPORTING THE MOST INNOVATIVE, EARLY-STAGE RESEARCH SEEKING BETTER UNDERSTANDING, TREATMENTS, OR, ULTIMATELY, A CURE FOR THESE DISEASES. SINCE 1973, BRIGHTFOCUS HAS AWARDED MORE THAN $190 MILLION IN RESEARCH GRANTS TO THOUSANDS OF SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD. OUR RESEARCH FUNDING HAS LED TO MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THESE DISEASES AND TO THE AWARDING OF TWO NOBEL PRIZES. BRIGHTFOCUS-SUPPORTED FINDINGS ARE CONSISTENTLY CITED BY OTHER SCIENTISTS AT TWICE THE FREQUENCY AS OTHER RESEARCH FINDINGS. OUR FUNDING ACTS AS A CATALYST IN EARLY-STAGE RESEARCH. THE BRIGHTFOCUS RESEARCH PROGRAMS ARE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE INITIAL FUNDING FOR HIGHLY INNOVATIVE EXPERIMENTAL IDEAS. DUE TO THE STRUCTURED GRANT REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS, THE RESEARCH IMPACT OF BRIGHTFOCUS IS VERY HIGH. MOST RECIPIENTS OF BRIGHTFOCUS FUNDING GO ON TO RECEIVE FUTURE GRANTS FROM OTHER SOURCES THAT ARE 10 TIMES LARGER THAN THE ORIGINAL BRIGHTFOCUS AWARD. THIS ONE THOUSAND PERCENT RETURN ON BRIGHTFOCUS INVESTMENT SPEAKS TO OUR ABILITY TO IDENTIFY PROMISING RESEARCH IN ITS EARLIEST STAGES AND SPAWN FUTURE SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES. IT IS OUR FIRM BELIEF THAT HAVING THE COURAGE TO INVEST IN INNOVATIVE IDEAS WILL LEAD TO REVOLUTIONARY APPROACHES AND LIFE-SAVING BREAKTHROUGHS. INDISPUTABLY, THE WORLD-CLASS RESEARCH IDENTIFIED AND SUPPORTED BY BRIGHTFOCUS IS MORE THAN PROMISING: IT IS MAKING A REAL CONTRIBUTION TO REVOLUTIONARY SCIENCE IN THE FIGHT TO SAVE MIND AND SIGHT. ALONG WITH FUNDING CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH TO FIND CURES TO SOME OF SOCIETY'S COSTLIEST DISEASES, BRIGHTFOCUS ALSO PROVIDES FREE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND SUPPORT TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PATIENTS AND FAMILIES AFFECTED BY THESE DISEASES NATIONWIDE. WE BASE THESE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS OFF OF THE LATEST RESEARCH FINDINGS. BRIGHTFOCUS INCREASES PUBLIC AWARENESS OF ALZHEIMER'S, MACULAR DEGENERATION, AND GLAUCOMA, AND COMMUNICATES WITH THOUGHT LEADERS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN THESE AREAS. BRIGHTFOCUS' AWARD-WINNING PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS (PSA) HAVE APPEARED ON TELEVISION, RADIO, AND IN PRINT THROUGHOUT THE NATION. BOTH MAKE A PLAN TODAY: GET YOUR EYES CHECKED AND NOW IS THE MOMENT TO STOP ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE POWERFULLY SEEK TO RAISE AWARENESS AND EARLY DETECTION, AND SIMILAR MESSAGES HAVE BEEN DELIVERED THROUGH DONATED PRINT PSA SPACE IN AIRPORTS AND TRAIN STATIONS, AS WELL AS AT PHARMACIES AND SUPERMARKETS. IN FISCAL YEAR 2018, THESE PSA MESSAGES GENERATED $13,658,057 IN DONATED MEDIA SERVICES AND GARNERED 1.3 BILLION IMPRESSIONS. STARTING IN FEBRUARY 2014, WE LAUNCHED BRIGHTFOCUS CHATS, A FREE, INTERACTIVE MONTHLY TELEPHONE FORUM THAT BRINGS TOGETHER PATIENTS AND CAREGIVERS TO LEARN FROM, AND ASK QUESTIONS OF, LEADING RESEARCHERS AND SPECIALISTS ON VISION DISEASES. THE CHATS ARE ARCHIVED ON OUR WEB SITE, WITH AUDIO AND PRINT TRANSCRIPTS AVAILABLE IN A NUMBER OF ACCESSIBLE FORMATS. WE CONTINUE TO INCREASE OUR PRINT PUBLICATIONS, MANY IN SPANISH, THAT PROVIDE HELPFUL INFORMATION TO PATIENTS AND CAREGIVERS, AND REGULARLY UNVEIL NEW VIDEO AND AUDIO RESOURCES IN CONJUNCTION WITH ALLIES IN THE MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITIES. WE HAVE EXPANDED OUR WRITTEN CONTENT OF KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS, PROMOTING AND SHARING THIS INFORMATION THROUGH OUR WEB SITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. CAPITALIZING ON EMERGING USE OF DATA VISUALIZATION, OUR BRIGHTFOCUS INFOGRAPHICS EASILY AND VISUALLY COMMUNICATE INFORMATION ON ALZHEIMER'S, MACULAR DEGENERATION, AND GLAUCOMA. MORE SPECIFICALLY, EACH OF THESE PROGRAM AREAS MAIL AWARENESS-RAISING MATERIALS TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF HOUSEHOLDS, WITH MESSAGES FOCUSING ON: - RISK FACTORS AND SYMPTOM RECOGNITION THROUGH PUBLIC AWARENESS AND STEPS THE PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE THAT MAY HELP REDUCE THEIR RISK. - LIFESTYLE CHOICES THAT PROMOTE GOOD HEALTH, ENCOURAGING READERS TO TAKE ACTION TO REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF THE ONSET OF THE DISEASE. - RESEARCH RESULTS AND TREATMENTS AVAILABLE TO ADDRESS THE DISEASE. BRIGHTFOCUS REGULARLY INTERACTS WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA, AS WELL AS ELECTED OFFICIALS AND FEDERAL AGENCY STAFF. THROUGH OUR OWN OUTREACH EFFORTS, AS WELL AS ACTIVE ROLES IN ADVOCACY COALITIONS, WE HELP ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF PIONEERING SCIENCE AND BETTER POSITION BRIGHTFOCUS AS A RESOURCE FOR THOSE STRUGGLING WITH, AND SEARCHING FOR CURES FOR, THESE TERRIBLE DISEASES. BRIGHTFOCUS IS THE PRESENTING SPONSOR OF THE HELEN KELLER PRIZE FOR VISION RESEARCH, ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS RECOGNITIONS IN THE FIELD. SELECTED BY A PANEL OF THE WORLD'S FOREMOST VISION SCIENTISTS, EACH YEAR'S LAUREATE IS HONORED FOR A GROUNDBREAKING CONTRIBUTION OR DISCOVERY TO SAVE SIGHT. BRIGHTFOCUS BEGAN ITS SPONSORSHIP IN 2015 TO CALL GREATER ATTENTION TO VISION RESEARCH ACROSS THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS. FORM 990, PART III, LINE 4A, PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: NOTABLE PROJECTS INCLUDE: A FOCUS ON AN INTERNATIONAL BIOSAMPLE AND BRAIN BANK FOR BIOMARKER DISCOVERY FOR HIGH RISK ALZHEIMER'S GROUPS; DETERMINING RISK ALGORITHMS IN MIDDLE AGE FOR ALZHEIMER'S IN MEN AND WOMEN; SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGES; AND BETTER USE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES AND BIG DATA, TO INCREASE THE SPEED OF CLINICAL TRIALS AND RESEARCH PROGRESS. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT SPECIFIC PROJECTS IS INCLUDED IN SCHEDULES F & I. BRIGHTFOCUS IS HONORED TO HAVE SUPPORTED THE EARLY RESEARCH OF TWO EVENTUAL NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS: DR. STANLEY PRUSINER AND DR. PAUL GREENGARD, WHOSE WORK HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL TO OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. BRIGHTFOCUS CONTINUES ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ACADEMIC JOURNAL "MOLECULAR NEURODEGENERATION" AS THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE BRIGHTFOCUS FOUNDATION. THE JOURNAL PUBLISHES TECHNICAL PAPERS RELATED TO NEURODEGENERATION IN THE THREE DISEASE AREAS. AS AN "OPEN ACCESS" JOURNAL, THERE IS NO FEE FOR READERS, AND ALL CONTENT IS FREE OF CHARGE AND EASY TO ACCESS. THIS OPEN ACCESS ENSURES MAXIMAL REACH OF JOURNAL CONTENTS TO SCIENTISTS AND CARE PROVIDERS WORLDWIDE. MOLECULAR NEURODEGENERATION IS CURRENTLY THE HIGHEST IMPACT OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL IN THE NEUROSCIENCES. IN ADDITION TO SUPPORTING CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH PROVIDES EXCELLENT RESOURCES ON DETECTING, TREATING, AND LIVING WITH THE DISEASE. THESE ARE AVAILABLE IN BOTH PRINT AS WELL AS ON OUR WEBSITE, WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG. ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IS THE ONLY CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG THE TOP 10 IN AMERICA WITHOUT A WAY TO PREVENT, CURE, OR EVEN SLOW ITS PROGRESSION. IT IS AN IRREVERSIBLE DEGENERATION OF THE BRAIN THAT CAUSES DISRUPTIONS IN MEMORY, COGNITION, PERSONALITY, AND OTHER FUNCTIONS AND INEVITABLY LEADS TO DEATH. MORE THAN 5 MILLION AMERICANS AGED 65 AND OLDER ARE THOUGHT TO HAVE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE TODAY, AND THAT NUMBER IS EXPECTED TO TRIPLE BY MIDCENTURY. FORM 990, PART III, LINE 4B, PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: IN ADDITION TO SUPPORTING CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH, MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH PROVIDES EXCELLENT RESOURCES ON DETECTING, TREATING, AND LIVING WITH THIS DISEASE. THESE ARE AVAILABLE IN BOTH PRINT AS WELL AS ON OUR WEBSITE, WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG. AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION IS A LEADING CAUSE OF VISION LOSS IN THE UNITED STATES. IT DESTROYS THE MACULA, THE PART OF THE EYE THAT PROVIDES SHARP, CENTRAL VISION NEEDED FOR SEEING OBJECTS CLEARLY. THE MOST COMMON EYE CONDITION IN PEOPLE AGE 60 AND OLDER, IT CAN LEAD TO VISION LOSS IN ONE OR BOTH EYES, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO RECOGNIZE FACES, DRIVE A CAR, OR READ. FORM 990, PART III, LINE 4C, PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING MARCH 31, 2018, NGR AWARDED $1,899,310 FOR 13 NEW PROJECTS. DETAILS ABOUT SPECIFIC PROJECTS ARE INCLUDED IN SCHEDULES F & I. IN ADDITION TO SUPPORTING CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH, NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH PROVIDES EXCELLENT RESOURCES ON DETECTING, TREATING, AND LIVING WITH THE DISEASE. THESE ARE AVAILABLE IN BOTH PRINT AS WELL AS ON OUR WEBSITE, WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG. GLAUCOMA IS A GROUP OF DISEASES THAT DAMAGE THE EYE'S OPTIC NERVE AND CAN RESULT IN VISION LOSS AND PERMANENT BLINDNESS. MORE THAN 3 MILLION AMERICANS AGE 40 AND OLDER HAVE GLAUCOMA. MORE THAN 60 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE WORLD HAVE THE DISEASE, AND THAT NUMBER IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE BY AS MUCH AS 20 MILLION BY 2020. WITH EARLY DETECTION AND TREATMENT, GLAUCOMA OFTEN CAN BE MANAGED TO PROTECT EYES FROM MORE SERIOUS VISION LOSS, BUT IT IS ESTIMATED THAT ONLY HALF OF THE PEOPLE LIVING WITH GLAUCOMA ARE AWARE THAT THEY HAVE THE DISEASE. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11B A DRAFT OF THE FEDERAL FORM 990 IS DISTRIBUTED TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE FOR REVIEW PRIOR TO BEING SUBMITTED TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE. THE DRAFT FEDERAL FORM 990 IS DISTRIBUTED EARLY ENOUGH TO PROVIDE EACH COMMITTEE MEMBER WITH A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR REVIEW AND SUBMISSION OF QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS PRIOR TO THE FILING DEADLINE. THE FINAL FEDERAL FORM 990 IS DISTRIBUTED TO EACH MEMBER OF THE FULL BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRIOR TO BEING FILED WITH THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE. THE DRAFT OR FINAL FEDERAL FORM 990 MAY BE DISTRIBUTED IN PERSON, BY REGULAR MAIL, E-MAIL, OR FAX. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12C BRIGHTFOCUS HAS ALL EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, AND DIRECTORS AGREE TO THE CODE OF CONDUCT THAT INCLUDES ADHERENCE TO THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND IMPLEMENTATION POLICY. EACH BOARD DIRECTOR, OFFICER, AND EMPLOYEE IS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE STATEMENT ANNAUALLY. EMPLOYEES MEET ANNUALLY WITH THE BRIGHTFOCUS' CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER TO REVIEW THEIR CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENTS, AND GIVE AN ANNUAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST COMPLIANCE REPORT TO THE BOARD CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR. IF A CONFLICT IS REPORTED, IT IS THEN REFERRED TO THE PRESIDENT/CEO AND/OR BRIGHTFOCUS' LEGAL COUNSEL AND, IF APPROPRIATE AND NECESSARY, THEN TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OR ITS APPOINTED COMMITTEE FOR FURTHER ACTION. THE DIRECTOR'S AND OFFICER'S STATEMENTS ARE REVIEWED BY THE BRIGHTFOCUS LEGAL COUNSEL. IF A CONFLICT IS REPORTED, IT IS THEN REFERRED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OR ITS APPOINTED COMMITTEE FOR FURTHER ACTION. AT THE TIME OF THE BRIGHTFOCUS DISCUSSION AND DECISION CONCERNING A CONFLICT OF INTEREST, THE CONFLICTED PARTY IS NOT PRESENT IN THE MEETING. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15 BRIGHTFOCUS' BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAS OVERALL AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR APPROVING THE ANNUAL BUDGET WHICH INCLUDES SALARY AND BENEFITS FOR ALL EMPLOYEES AT EVERY LEVEL INCLUDING NON-DIRECTOR OFFICERS AND KEY EMPLOYEES. ALL PAY ADJUSTMENTS ARE MADE ON A YEARLY BASIS EFFECTIVE APRIL 1ST, THE BEGINNING OF THE BRIGHTFOCUS FISCAL YEAR. BEFORE APPROVING THE COMPENSATION OF THE PRESIDENT/CEO, THE BOARD DETERMINES THE TOTAL COMPENSATION TO BE PROVIDED BY BRIGHTFOCUS TO THE PRESIDENT/CEO IS REASONABLE IN LIGHT OF THE POSITION, RESPONSIBILITY AND QUALIFICATION OF THE POSITION HELD INCLUDING THE RESULT OF AN EVALUATION OF PRIOR PERFORMANCE FOR BRIGHTFOCUS, IF APPLICABLE. THE PRESIDENT/CEO IS EVALUATED ANNUALLY BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS THROUGH THE USE OF AN IN-DEPTH GOAL ATTAINMENT STRUCTURE, (DEVELOPED WITH ADVICE FROM BOARD SOURCE) THAT INCLUDES A SELF ASSESSMENT AND A BOARD OF DIRECTORS ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION AGAINST SET GOALS, OUTCOMES AND DELIVERABLES. IN ADDITION, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS PERIODICALLY ENGAGES AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT TO OBTAIN AND CONSIDER APPROPRIATE DATA, INCLUDING A SALARY SURVEY, WHICH INCLUDES INFORMATION COMPILED FROM THE FEDERAL FORM 990 OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, CONCERNING COMPENSATION PAID TO CEOS IN LIKE CIRCUMSTANCES. IN MAKING THE DETERMINATION, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SHALL CONSIDER TOTAL COMPENSATION TO INCLUDE THE SALARY AND VALUE OF ALL BENEFITS PROVIDED BY BRIGHTFOCUS TO THE INDIVIDUAL IN PAYMENT FOR SERVICES. AT THE TIME OF THE BRIGHTFOCUS BOARD DISCUSSION AND DECISION CONCERNING THE PRESIDENT/CEO'S COMPENSATION, THE PRESIDENT/CEO IS NOT PRESENT IN THE MEETING. THE BOARD SHALL SET FORTH THE BASIS FOR ITS DECISIONS WITH RESPECT TO COMPENSATION IN THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING AT WHICH THE DECISIONS ARE MADE, INCLUDING THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE EVALUATION AND THE BASIS FOR DETERMINING THAT THE INDIVIDUAL'S COMPENSATION WAS REASONABLE IN LIGHT OF THE EVALUATION AND COMPARABILITY DATA. THE PRESIDENT/CEO IS CHARGED WITH THE SETTING OF SALARIES OF ALL OTHER EMPLOYEES IN ACCORDANCE WITH A COMPENSATION STRUCTURE AND BUDGET APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THE PRESIDENT/CEO AND HUMAN RESOURCES REVIEW EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS THAT INCLUDE KEY EMPLOYEES, BY PERIODICALLY ENGAGING AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT COMPENSATION AND BENEFIT BENCHMARKING STUDIES THAT INCLUDE VARIOUS REGIONAL AND NATIONAL NON-PROFIT COMPENSATION REPORTS AND SURVEYS. COMPENSATION DELIBERATIONS AND DECISIONS INCLUDE THE REVIEW OF SELF AND SUPERVISORY EVALUATIONS OF EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE COMPARED TO SET INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION C, LINE 19 BRIGHTFOCUS MAKES ITS GOVERNING DOCUMENTS INCLUDING ITS ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS, THE FEDERAL FORM 1023, THE 501(C)(3) LETTER OF DETERMINATION FROM THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY, AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND FEDERAL FORM 990 AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC UPON REQUEST. IN ADDITION, THE PUBLIC ALSO HAS ACCESS TO THE ANNUAL REPORT, AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, THE 501(C)(3) LETTER OF DETERMINATION FROM THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, AND FEDERAL FORM 990 ON OUR WEBSITE. FORM 990, PART XI, LINE 9: RECOVERIES OF PRIOR YEAR GRANTS 361,983. CHANGE IN PRESENT VALUE OF GRANTS 122,750. SCHEDULE F, PART II, LINE 1, COLUMN D: REGION: EAST ASIA & PACIFIC (D) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY YIM LUI CAROL CHEUNG, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018093S) RECOGNITION OF RETINAL FINGERPRINT FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE USING DEEP LEARNING APPROACH. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: EARLY DETECTION OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) ALLOWS EARLY INTERVENTION TO ITS UPSTREAM PATHOLOGY, WHICH IS MORE LIKELY TO PREVENT OR DELAY COGNITIVE DECLINE AS SUGGESTED BY CURRENT EVIDENCE, YET CURRENT DIAGNOSTIC METHOD FOR EARLY AD ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO POPULATION-BASED SCREENING. BEING AN EXTENSION OF THE BRAIN, OUR EYE IS ALSO AFFECTED BY AD AND EYES FROM SUBJECTS WITH AD EXHIBIT A STRUCTURAL PATTERN THAT MAY BE USED AS A "RETINAL FINGERPRINT" FOR EARLY DETECTION. IN THIS STUDY, AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) WILL "LEARN" THESE RETINAL PATTERNS WITH DEEP LEARNING METHODS AND, AFTER THAT, WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY EYES FROM INDIVIDUALS WITH AD. THIS TECHNIQUE ONLY REQUIRES A ROUTINE EYE-CHECK, AND REPRESENTS AN INEXPENSIVE, NON-INVASIVE, EFFICIENT AND ACCESSIBLE METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE AD. GRANT AWARDED: $300,000, THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG, CHINA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018093S REGION: EUROPE (D) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY SAIMA HILAL, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018165F) THE CLINICAL RELEVANCE OF CORTICAL CEREBRAL MICROINFARCTS IN DEGENERATIVE BRAIN PATHOLOGY SUCH AS ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: DAMAGE TO THE SMALL VESSELS IN THE BRAIN ARE ONE OF THE MAJOR CAUSE OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). ADEQUATE TREATMENT IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE BECAUSE THE EXACT PROCESS BEHIND THIS DISEASE IS STILL UNKNOWN. WITH THIS PROPOSAL, WE AIM TO FIND THE CAUSE FOR AD BY FINDING SMALL STROKES IN THE BRAIN. THIS WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND WHY AD IS SO COMMON IN PEOPLE WITH SMALL STROKES AND WILL HELP CREATE MEANS TO CURE AND PREVENT THIS DISEASE. GRANT AWARDED: $150,000, ERASMUS MEDICAL CENTER, ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018165F REGION: EAST ASIA & PACIFIC (D) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY STEPHANIE RAINEY-SMITH, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018402F) IMPROVING SLEEP TO PREVENT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS A TERRIBLE ILLNESS WHICH DAMAGES THE BRAIN OF MANY OLDER PEOPLE, CAUSING THEM TO STOP THINKING CLEARLY, TO STOP REMEMBERING IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THEMSELVES, THEIR FAMILY AND THEIR LIFE, AND TO START BEHAVING DIFFERENTLY; THESE PROBLEMS GET SO BAD THAT DAILY TASKS SUCH AS DRIVING, READING OR FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS WHEN SPEAKING TO SOMEONE BECOME VERY DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE. WE KNOW THAT A PARTICULAR PROTEIN BUILDS UP IN THE BRAIN OF A PERSON WITH AD AND THAT THE BRAIN BECOMES SMALLER, BUT WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO SLOW OR STOP THE DISEASE. SOME SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT SLEEP IS IMPORTANT, BUT MORE WORK IS NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER 'HOW LONG AND 'HOW WELL' SOMEONE USUALLY SLEEPS CHANGES HOW LIKELY THEY ARE TO GET AD, OR ALTERS THE SPEED AT WHICH THE CHANGES IN THE BRAIN HAPPEN. THIS STUDY WILL EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SLEEP, MEMORY AND THINKING, AND CHANGES IN THE BRAIN, BY INVESTIGATING WHETHER IMPROVED SLEEP (BETTER AND LONGER) CAUSES BETTER MEMORY AND THINKING, SLOWER PROTEIN BUILD UP IN THE BRAIN AND SLOWS THE SHRINKING OF THE BRAIN, WITH THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT HOPEFULLY HELPING TO FIND A WAY TO SLOW OR STOP THIS HORRIBLE DISEASE. GRANT AWARDED: $149,998, EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY, JOONDALUP, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018402F REGION: EAST ASIA & PACIFIC (D) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY BRETT COLLINS, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018627S) STABILIZING THE RETROMER PROTEIN COMPLEX WITH MOLECULAR CHAPERONES FOR ALZHEIMER'S AND PARKINSON'S DISEASES. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: WITH OUR AGING POPULATION COMES AN EVER-INCREASING INCIDENCE OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD), AND OTHER AGE-RELATED DEMENTIAS. BY THE YEAR 2050, THERE IS FORECAST TO BE MORE THAN 13 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING WITH AD IN THE USA AND NEW TREATMENTS ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED TO PREVENT THIS IMPENDING EPIDEMIC. THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO EFFECTIVE THERAPIES FOR AD, WITH CURRENT CLINICAL TRIALS ALL ATTEMPTING TO DIRECTLY TARGET AMYLOID (A-BETA) PEPTIDES THOUGHT TO BE THE DRIVER OF NEURONAL DEGENERATION. IN THE LONG TERM, SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT WE MAY HAVE TO USE COCKTAILS OF DRUGS TO EFFECTIVELY SLOW THE DISEASE, MUCH AS WE NOW DO FOR DISEASES SUCH AS HIV/AIDS. A NEW CONCEPT IN AD RESEARCH IS THAT CELLULAR PROCESSES REGULATING PROTEIN TURNOVER COULD BE MANIPULATED TO PREVENT THE BUILD-UP OF THE TOXIC A-BETA PEPTIDES THAT CAUSE NEUROLOGICAL FAILURE. IN THIS WORK WE WILL BE DEVELOPING NOVEL SMALL MOLECULES AND PEPTIDES THAT WE HOPE WILL ENHANCE THIS PROTEIN TURNOVER IN NEURONS, AND PROVIDE A STARTING POINT FOR DESIGNING NEW AD DRUGS. GRANT AWARDED: $191,034, THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018627S REGION: NORTH AMERICA (D) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY SANJEEV KUMAR, MD, FRCPC, ENTITLED: (A2018667S) IDENTIFYING AND TARGETING CORTICAL INHIBITION DEFICITS IN AGITATION/AGGRESSION DUE TO ALZHEIMER'S DEMENTIA. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: AGITATION AND AGGRESSION AFFECT MAJORITY OF PATIENTS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DEMENTIA (AD). MEDICATIONS USED TO TREAT THESE SYMPTOMS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MANY SIDE EFFECTS. WE ARE PROPOSING TO USE MAGNETIC BRAIN STIMULATION TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS OF AGITATION IN AD AND USE A NON-INVASIVE BRAIN STIMULATION TECHNIQUE CALLED TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION (TDCS) TO TREAT AGITATION. IF SUCCESSFUL THIS STUDY WILL LEAD TO DEVELOPMENT OF A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR AGITATION IN AD. GRANT AWARDED: $300,000, CENTRE FOR ADDICTION AND MENTAL HEALTH, TORONTO, CANADA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018667S REGION: EAST ASIA & PACIFIC (D) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY BENJAMIN HOGAN, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018807S) CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEWLY DESCRIBED SCAVENGER CELL TYPE IN THE MENINGEAL VASCULATURE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: NORMAL FUNCTION OF THE BRAIN VASCULATURE AND THE CLEARANCE OF HARMFUL WASTES FROM THE BRAIN ARE CENTRAL IN THE PROGRESSION OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. THIS PROJECT FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING A CELL TYPE THAT SURROUNDS BLOOD VESSELS IN THE BRAIN AND ACTIVELY CLEARS POTENTIALLY HARMFUL DEBRIS AND WASTE. WE WILL DETERMINE THE ROLE PLAYED BY THIS CELL TYPE IN CLEARANCE OF WASTES IN AGING BRAINS AND THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF THIS CELL TYPE IN NEURODEGENERATION. WE AIM TO DEVELOP A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE BRAIN IS CLEANED WITH A HOPE THAT MANIPULATING THESE PROCESSES IN THE FUTURE MIGHT PROVIDE A NEW STRATEGY TO FIGHT DISEASE PROGRESSION. GRANT AWARDED: $295,439, THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018807S SCHEDULE F, PART II, LINE 1, COLUMN D: REGION: EAST ASIA & PACIFIC (D) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY YUAN LEI, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018112) THE ROLE OF MICRO RNA21 IN REGULATING AQUEOUS HUMOR OUTFLOW. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: THE MOST EFFECTIVE THERAPY FOR GLAUCOMA IS REDUCING EYE PRESSURE, BUT IT IS NOT UNDERSTOOD HOW THE PRESSURE IN THE EYE IS REGULATED. MICRO RNAS ARE VERY SMALL GENETIC SEQUENCES THAT CAN REGULATE THE EXPRESSION OF MANY GENES. IN FACT, A SINGLE MICRO RNA IS SO POWERFUL THAT IT CAN MODULATE SEVERAL GENES. THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF A VERY IMPORTANT MICRO RNA NAMELY MICRO RNA21 IN REGULATING IOP. THIS MAY BE A VERY EFFECTIVE NEW WAY TO TREAT ELEVATED EYE PRESSURE IN AN EYE DISEASE CALLED GLAUCOMA. GRANT AWARDED: $99,546, EYE AND ENT HOSPITAL OF FUDAN UNIVERSITY, SHANGHAI, CHINA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018112 REGION: EUROPE (D) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION DISEASE RESEARCH BY FLORIAN SENNLAUB, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018096) INFLUENCE OF CHRONIC INTERMITTENT HYPOXIA ON NEUROINFLAMMATION IN AGE RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: IT HAS RECENTLY BEEN SHOWN THAT PATIENTS WITH SLEEP APNEA SYNDROME (SAS) SUFFER MORE FREQUENTLY FROM AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION, BUT THE REASON FOR THE ASSOCIATION OF BOTH DISEASES REMAINS OBSCURE. OUR PRELIMINARY DATA SUGGEST THAT THE EPISODES OF HYPOXIA THAT CHARACTERIZE SLEEP APNEA, ACTIVATE CIRCULATING IMMUNE CELLS AND LEAD TO LONGER AND STRONGER DETRIMENTAL INFLAMMATION IN THE EYE IN AMD MODELS. OUR PROPOSAL TO STUDY IMMUNE CELL ACTIVATION AND DETRIMENTAL INFLAMMATION BY HYPOXIA MIGHT HELP EXPLAIN THE ASSOCIATION OF SLEEP APNEA WITH AMD, BUT ALSO OF DISEASES SUCH AS ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SAS AND HARMFUL INFLAMMATION. INCREASED AWARENESS OF THIS MECHANISM WILL HELP TO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT SAS IN AFFECTED AMD PATIENTS, REDUCING THEIR NEED FOR INTRA-VITREAL INJECTIONS AND SLOWING THE DEGENERATION IN THE FUTURE. GRANT AWARDED: $160,000, INSTITUTE DE LA VISION, PARIS, FRANCE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018096 REGION: EAST ASIA & PACIFIC (D) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY CHI LUU, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018144) RECONSTITUTED HIGH DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (RHDL) FOR THE TREATMENT OF AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD). INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: IN THIS PROJECT, WE WILL EXAMINE THE ROLE OF CHOLESTEROL ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF AMD, AN EYE CONDITION THAT CAUSES THE LOSS OF CENTRAL VISION. WE WILL ALSO INVESTIGATE WHETHER AMD CAN BE TREATED WITH "GOOD CHOLESTEROL." THE FINDINGS FROM THIS PROJECT WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW THERAPIES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE EARLIEST CHANGES IN AMD TO PREVENT VISION LOSS. THERE ARE NO TREATMENT OPTIONS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR THE EARLY STAGES ON AMD TO PREVENT ITS PROGRESSION TO VISION LOSS. GRANT AWARDED: $160,000, CENTRE FOR EYE RESEARCH AUSTRALIA, EAST MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018144 SCHEDULE I, PART II, LINE 1, COLUMN (H): NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY CONGCONG HE, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018100S) MECHANISMS OF AUTOPHAGIC REGULATION OF A-BETA METABOLISM AGAINST ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: AUTOPHAGY, THE PATHWAY A BRAIN CELL USES TO DISPOSE OF DAMAGED STRUCTURES INSIDE THE CELL, IS IMPAIRED IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). BRAIN CELLS PRODUCE AMYLOID, A TOXIC PEPTIDE THAT CAUSES AD. OUR RESEARCH WILL SHOW HOW ACTIVATED AUTOPHAGY CAN RECOGNIZE AND CLEAR AMYLOIDS IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF BRAIN CELLS, AND HOW TO INCREASE THE ACTIVITY OF THIS PATHWAY TO ACCELERATE THE DISPOSAL OF AMYLOIDS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018100S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY CHAO WANG, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018128F) LDLR-TARGETED THERAPY FOR APOE-RELATED TAUOPATHY. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: TAU PROTEIN AGGREGATION IN NEURONS IS ONE OF THE HALLMARKS FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). THE APOE GENE IS A STRONG RISK FACTOR FOR AD AND DIRECTLY AFFECTS TAU PATHOLOGY AND TAU-MEDIATED NEURODEGENERATION. THEREFORE, WE WILL ASK IF DECREASING APOE LEVELS IN THE BRAIN CAN ALTER TAU AGGREGATION AND TAU-INDUCED NEURODEGENERATION, AND WE WILL ALSO TRY TO DETERMINE HOW APOE EXERTS ITS EFFECTS ON TAU. UNDERSTANDING THESE QUESTIONS WILL POTENTIALLY HELP US TO DEVELOP NOVEL TREATMENTS FOR AD. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018128F NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY CARA CROFT, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018149F) UNDERSTANDING AND TARGETING TAU-INDUCED NEURODEGENERATION. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: TAU IS ONE OF THE TWO MAJOR PROTEINS THAT CHANGES AND THEN BUILDS UP IN THE BRAIN IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND HOW IT IS LINKED TO BRAIN CELL DEATH IS STILL UNCLEAR. USING A MOUSE ALZHEIMER'S-IN-A-DISH MODEL SIMILAR TO THE AD DIAGNOSED IN PATIENTS, THE RESEARCHERS WILL TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHY SOME PEOPLE HAVE BUILDUP OF TAU AND OTHERS DON'T. THEN THEY WILL TREAT THE TISSUES TO TRY AND PREVENT THE TAU BUILDUP. THIS WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND IF WE ARE ABLE TO TREAT HUMANS WITH AD IN A SIMILAR WAY. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018149F NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY TIMOTHY MILLER, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018169S) ANTISENSE-MEDIATED TREM2 KNOCKDOWN TO LESSEN AMYLOID AND TAU PATHOLOGY. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: UNDERSTANDING THE GENETIC RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS IMPORTANT FOR IDENTIFYING AND DIRECTING SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT STRATEGIES. OF THESE RISKS, A GENE INVOLVED IN INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES (TREM2) INCREASES RISK FOR DEVELOPING AD AND APPEARS TO MEDIATE THE ACCUMULATION OF TOXIC PROTEIN AMYLOID BETA IN THE BRAINS OF MICE WITH AD. WE PROPOSE A STRATEGY THAT CAN REDUCE TREM2 EXPRESSION IN THE CONTEXT OF AD AND WILL INVESTIGATE PATHOLOGY AND INFLAMMATION IN RESPONSE TO TREM2 LOSS. OUR RESULTS WILL IDENTIFY THE ROLE OF TREM2 IN AD AND HELP DIRECT FUTURE TREM2-TARGETED THERAPIES FOR AD PATIENTS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018169S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, MILLER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY HOLLY CUKIER, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018197S) ELUCIDATING THE CELL-SPECIFIC ROLES OF ABCA7. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) OCCURS MORE FREQUENTLY IN DIVERSE POPULATIONS (I.E.: AFRICAN AMERICANS AND HISPANICS) THAN WHITE POPULATIONS. THIS PROPOSAL SEEKS TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF A GENE SHOWN TO BE A RISK FACTOR FOR AD, ABCA7, AND THE CONSEQUENCE OF A MUTATION THAT WAS FIRST IDENTIFIED IN AFRICAN AMERICANS. STEM CELL LINES HAVE BEEN GENERATED FROM AFRICAN AMERICANS WITH THIS DELETION AND BOTH NEURONS AND CELLS INVOLVED IN IMMUNITY, MICROGLIA, WILL BE CREATED. USING THESE TWO CELL TYPES, WE WILL INVESTIGATE HOW THIS DELETION MAY AFFECT THE NORMAL WAY NEURONS AND MICROGLIA DEVELOP, AND HOW THEY MAY LEAD TO AD. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018197S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JASON HASSENSTAB, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018202S) RAPID, REMOTE, AND RELIABLE: SMARTPHONE-BASED BURST COGNITIVE ASSESSMENTS IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: WE RELY ON COMPLEX MEMORY AND THINKING SKILLS TO FUNCTION IN EVERYDAY LIFE, HOWEVER, THESE SKILLS FLUCTUATE CONSTANTLY DUE TO FATIGUE, STRESS, AND ANXIETY--AND THESE FLUCTUATIONS INCREASE AS WE AGE. DESPITE THIS, WHEN WE STUDY PEOPLE AT RISK FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD), WE TEST MEMORY AND THINKING IN "ONE-SHOT" IN A UNFAMILIAR PLACE (USUALLY A CLINIC OR HOSPITAL EXAM ROOM). SOME PERFORM REALLY WELL ON A "GOOD" DAY AND OTHERS MAY PERFORM MORE POORLY ON A "BAD" DAY. THESE FLUCTUATIONS MAKE IT EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT TO MEASURE TRUE ABILITIES. IN THIS STUDY, WE PROPOSE TO USE SMARTPHONES TO TEST MEMORY AND THINKING IN SHORT "BURSTS", REQUIRING LESS THAN 3 MINUTES EACH TO COMPLETE. PARTICIPANTS CAN TAKE TESTS WHEREVER IT IS SAFE TO USE A SMARTPHONE AND THEY TAKE THE TESTS MULTIPLE TIMES PER DAY, WHICH PROVIDES MUCH MORE ACCURATE AND RELIABLE TESTS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW MEMORY AND THINKING CHANGE IN VERY EARLY AD. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018202S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY GOONHO PARK, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018212F) DENDRITIC SPINE LOSS IN ALZHEIMER DISEASE: ROLE OF CASPASE CLEAVAGE OF THE AMYLOID PRECURSOR PROTEIN (APP). INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: NEURONS COMMUNICATE TO ONE ANOTHER BY FORMING SYNAPSES IN THE BRAIN. FOR REASONS THAT ARE NOT COMPLETELY CLEAR, THESE SYNAPTIC CONNECTIONS ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO DAMAGE AND ARE LOST IN THE EARLY STAGES OF AD. INJURY AND LOSS OF SYNAPSES IN BRAIN ARE BELIEVED TO BE A MAJOR REASON FOR COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT SEEN IN INDIVIDUALS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). AMYLOID BETA-PEPTIDE, WHICH IS GENERATED FROM APP, IS HYPOTHESIZED TO BE ONE OF THE MAJOR REASONS FOR SYNAPTIC DAMAGE. IN ADDITION, HOWEVER, APP ALSO GENERATES ANOTHER FRAGMENT WHICH WE HYPOTHESIZE COULD PLAY AN ADDITIONAL ROLE IN SYNAPTIC INJURY. IN THIS PROJECT, WE WILL TEST WHETHER THE BLOCKING OF THE GENERATION OF THIS FRAGMENT FROM APP CAN PROTECT SYNAPSES FROM INJURY AND DAMAGE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018212F NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JOSEPH CASTELLANO, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018213S) PLASMA PROTEIN-MEDIATED EFFECTS OF APOE4 EXPRESSION ON BRAIN IN AD. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: POSSESSION OF THE APOE-4 GENE CONFERS A STRONG RISK FOR EARLIER ONSET FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD), A DEVASTATING BRAIN DISORDER THAT DAMAGES SYNAPSES AND ULTIMATELY NEURONS RESPONSIBLE FOR MEMORY AND LEARNING AS WELL AS EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. WHILE IT IS CLEAR THAT AD CREATES WIDESPREAD DAMAGE WITHIN THE BRAIN ITSELF, IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER THE UPSTREAM CAUSE OF THE DISEASE MAY LIE IN CHANGES THAT OCCUR IN THE BLOOD, ULTIMATELY INFLUENCING BRAIN HEALTH, A HYPOTHESIS FOR WHICH THERE IS SUPPORT IN THE CONTEXT OF NORMAL AGING. THIS PROPOSAL WILL DIRECTLY INVESTIGATE HOW MANIPULATING PROTEINS IN THE BLOOD INFLUENCES THE ABILITY OF THE RISKY APOE-4 GENE TO INFLUENCE DEVELOPMENT OF AD AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH IT CAN BE RESCUED WITH MORE NEUTRAL FORMS OF THE GENE, POSSIBLY PROVIDING FRESH INSIGHTS INTO NEW TREATMENT AVENUES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018213S SCHEDULE I, PART II, LINE 1, COLUMN (H): NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: SANFORD-BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY YINGJUN ZHAO, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018214F) TARGETING SYNAPTIC AND MEMORY DEFICITS IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS THE MOST PREVALENT NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDER WORLD-WIDE, AND HAS DEVASTATING EFFECTS ON MEMORY AND BRAIN FUNCTION IN AFFLICTED PATIENTS. ALTHOUGH THE EXACT CAUSES THAT ACCELERATE MEMORY LOSS DURING AGING IS NOT KNOWN, IT IS LIKELY THAT A TOXIC PROTEIN A-BETA PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN DISRUPTING COMMUNICATION JUNCTIONS IN THE BRAIN AS AD PROGRESSES. OUR GOAL IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW NEWLY-DISCOVERED PROTEINS THAT ARE OVERPRODUCED IN AD, CAN ALTER THE BRAIN TO DISRUPT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN NEURONS TO CAUSE PROBLEMS WITH MEMORY. BY UNDERSTANDING CHANGES BEHIND MEMORY LOSS IN ALZHEIMER'S, WE CAN BEGIN TO FORMULATE STRATEGIES TO RESTORE NEURONAL CONNECTIONS AND MEMORIES IN AGED AD PATIENTS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018214F NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY MICKAEL AUDRAIN, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018253F) MICROGLIAL TYROBP INVOLVEMENT IN TAU PROPAGATION AND ASSOCIATED INFLAMMATION. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: NEUROINFLAMMATION IN THE BRAIN HAS CAUSES SUCH AS NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES INCLUDING DISEASES CALLED "TAUOPATHIES". CELLS CALLED "MICROGLIA" ARE THE RESIDENT "GARBAGE DISPOSAL CELLS" OF THE BRAIN AND THEREBY PLAY KEY ROLES IN ANY INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES. USING A NOVEL MULTISCALE COMPUTATIONAL APPROACH, A TEAM FROM MOUNT SINAI IDENTIFIED TYROBP AS A CAUSAL REGULATOR CONTROLLING THE GARBAGE DISPOSAL ACTIONS OF MICROGLIA. TO ELUCIDATE THE ROLE OF TYROBP IN TAUOPATHIES, WE GENERATED NEW GENETICALLY MANIPULATED TAUOPATHY MODEL MICE THAT ARE RENDERED DEFICIENT FOR TYROBP. CHARACTERIZATION OF THESE MICE WILL HELP TO DETERMINE HOW TYROBP MODIFY INFLAMMATION AND THE TAUOPATHY PROGRESSION AND THEREBY GREATLY INFLUENCE THIS FIELD OF RESEARCH. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018253F NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: THE SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY WEIWEI FAN, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018325S) TARGETING PPAR DELTA IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: PPAR DELTA IS A PROTEIN THAT IS PRESENT IN THE BRAIN. IT IS SUGGESTED TO HAVE IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS IN BRAIN. THIS PROPOSAL WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND ITS EXACT FUNCTIONS IN BRAIN. I WILL ALSO TEST WHETHER WE CAN TARGET PPAR DELTA TO TREAT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018325S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY CELESTE KARCH, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018349S) CXCR4 AS A MODIFIER OF TAU AGGREGATION IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: SEVERAL LINES OF EVIDENCE SUGGEST THAT INFLAMMATION AND ALTERED FUNCTION OF THE CELL TYPES IN THE BRAIN INVOLVED IN INFLAMMATION, SUCH AS MICROGLIA, REPRESENTS AN EARLY AND CRITICAL DRIVER OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). OUR GROUP HAS RECENTLY SHOWN THAT A CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR CXCR4 FOUND IN THE CELL TYPES THAT MEDIATE INFLAMMATION IN THE BRAIN, SUCH AS MICROGLIA, CONTRIBUTE TO TAUOPATHIES SUCH AS PROGRESSIVE SUPRANUCLEAR PALSY, FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA, CORTICOBASAL DEGENERATION, AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY IS TO BEGIN TO DETERMINE HOW CXCR4 DRIVES AD. TOGETHER, THE FINDINGS FROM THIS STUDY WILL DEFINE THE FUNCTION OF A NEW GENE THAT INCREASES RISK FOR AD AND OTHER TAUOPATHIES AND WILL SHED LIGHT ON ITS ROLE IN DISEASE PROCESSES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018349S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY ALEX SMITH, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018351S) AQUAPORIN-4 MISLOCALIZATION AND GLUCOSE HYPOMETABOLISM IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: THE HEALTHY BRAIN CONSUMES LARGE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY, TEN TIMES AS MUCH AS OTHER SIMILARLY SIZED REGIONS OF THE BODY, BUT IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) THE SUPPLY OF ENERGY RICH SUGAR FROM THE BLOOD TO BRAIN IS REDUCED; IT IS NOT KNOWN WHY THIS HAPPENS. BLOOD VESSELS IN THE BRAIN ARE SURROUNDED BY CELLS THAT CONTAIN A VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF A PROTEIN CALLED AQUAPORIN-4 THAT WE THINK IS INVOLVED IN REGULATING HOW TIGHTLY THESE CELLS SURROUND THE VESSELS. IN AD, THE AMOUNT OF AQUAPORIN-4 AROUND VESSELS IS REDUCED AND WE BELIEVE THIS CAUSES THE CELLS TO SWELL AROUND THE VESSELS, BLOCKING SUGAR FROM GETTING INTO THE BRAIN. WE PROPOSE TO DO EXPERIMENTS THAT WILL TEST THIS IDEA AND CONSIDER NEW THERAPIES TO REMOVE THE BLOCK FOR SUGAR TRANSPORT INTO BRAIN. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018351S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY WEI CAO, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018377S) ROLE OF TYPE I INTERFERON IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS A DEVASTATING DISEASE WITH NO CURE. OFTEN, THE BRAINS OF AD PATIENTS HAVE ONGOING INFLAMMATION THAT FUELS THE DISEASE. THIS PROPOSAL STUDIES A NEW FAMILY OF CYTOKINE WHICH WE RECENTLY DETECTED IN AD BRAINS. AS A GOAL, WE HOPE NOT ONLY TO OBTAIN KNOWLEDGE ON HOW INFLAMMATION WORSENS AD BUT ALSO TO IDENTIFY TARGETS FOR EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018377S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JOSHUA GRILL, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018405S) IMPROVING RECRUITMENT TO PRODROMAL ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE CLINICAL TRIALS. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: THE SINGLE GREATEST BARRIER TO ADVANCES IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE TREATMENT IS POOR RECRUITMENT TO CLINICAL TRIALS OF PROMISING THERAPIES. MOST OF THESE CLINICAL TRIALS NOW ENROLL PATIENTS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT. THIS PROJECT WILL IDENTIFY THE CHALLENGES TO ENROLLING THESE PATIENTS IN CLINICAL TRIALS AND DEVELOP METHODS TO IMPROVE RECRUITMENT TO THESE CRITICAL STUDIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018405S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JEFFERY VANCE, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018425S) IDENTIFYING A PROTECTIVE VARIANT(S) FOR THE APOE E4 ALLELE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: APOE IS A GENE THAT IS THE STRONGEST RISK FACTOR FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD), BUT AFRICAN CARRIERS OF THE RISK FORM OF APOE GET MUCH LESS AD THAN EUROPEAN CARRIERS OF THE SAME FORM OF THE GENE. WE HAVE LOCALIZED THE AREA ON THE CHROMOSOME THAT CONTAINS THE DNA CHANGE THAT IS LOWERING THE RISK FOR AD INAFRICANS. USING DNA SEQUENCE DATA FROM DIFFERENT POPULATIONS, COMPARING THE SEQUENCE DIFFERENCES AND THEN SEEING HOW THE DIFFERENCES AFFECT DNA FUNCTION, WE WILL CREATE A SMALL LIST OF POTENTIAL "PROTECTIVE" CHANGES, WE WILL HAVE A SMALL NUMBER OF CHANGES THAT CAN BE TESTED IN BIOLOGICAL MODELS. THE PURPOSE IS TO IDENTIFY HOW THE PROTECTIVE DNA CHANGE WORKS IN AFRICANS, AND USE THAT INFORMATION TO DEVELOP A DRUG TO REDUCE THE RISK TO GET AD. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018425S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY SARA GALLANT, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018449F) THE LOCUS COERULEUS AND MEMORY SELECTIVITY IN AGING AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: THE ABILITY TO SELECTIVELY FOCUS ATTENTION ON IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND IGNORE DISTRACTION IS CRITICAL FOR OPTIMAL MEMORY PERFORMANCE. THIS ABILITY BECOMES PARTICULARLY CRITICAL WHEN WE EXPERIENCE AN ALARMING EVENT THAT INCREASES AROUSAL LEVELS AND CONSUMES ATTENTIONAL RESOURCES. EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE PART OF OUR BRAIN THOUGHT TO INSTIGATE THESE SELECTIVITY PROCESSES, THE LOCUS COERULEUS (LC), DEGRADESIN AGING AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD), YET LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LC AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN THESE POPULATIONS. THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS THUS TO ADDRESS A NOVEL AND CRITICAL RESEARCH QUESTION: HOW FUNCTIONING OF THE LC UNDER EMOTIONAL AROUSAL RELATES TO SELECTIVE MEMORY PROCESSES IN AGING AND AD. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018449F SCHEDULE I, PART II, LINE 1, COLUMN (H): NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR SUNY ON BEHALF OF UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO SPONSORED PROJECTS SERVICES. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY SHERMALI GUNAWARDENA, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018509S) A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC NANO-VESICLE FOR THE CLEARANCE OF AXONAL BLOCKS TO PREVENT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: WITH RISING LIFE EXPECTANCIES AND AN AGING BABY BOOMER GENERATION, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) HAS BECOME ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH IN THE U.S. TREATING AD HAS PROVEN DIFFICULT AS CURRENT TREATMENTS ARE ONLY ABLE TO TARGET THE LATE STAGE OF DISEASE WITH MANY ADVERSE SIDE EFFECTS AND CURRENTLY, THERE ARE NO CURES FOR AD. THE CHALLENGE IS TO DEVELOP TREATMENTS THAT ARE ABLE TO SPECIFICALLY TARGET AFFECTED NEURONS AT EARLY STAGES OF DISEASE INITIATION. WE WILL USE A HIGHLY INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO DEVELOP SYNTHETIC BIOMOLECULES THAT WILL DELIVER THERAPEUTICS TO SPECIFIC SITES WITHIN THE BRAIN, TO MODIFY DEFECTS THAT ACTIVATE DISEASE PATHWAYS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018509S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, MILLER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY FARID RAJABLI, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018556F) EVALUATING THE ROLE OF RACE, ETHNICITY, AND GENETIC ANCESTRY IN ALZHEIMER DISEASE-ASSOCIATED GENES. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: THE STRONGEST RISK GENE IDENTIFIED FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS APOE. HOWEVER, THIS GENE DOES NOT INCREASE THE RISK FOR AD IN EVERY ETHNIC POPULATION. FOR EXAMPLE, INDIVIDUALS WITH AN AFRICAN ETHNIC BACKGROUND DO NOT SEEM TO BE VERY AFFECTED BY THIS VARIATION. THIS IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT INDIVIDUALS FROM DIFFERENT RACES/ETHNICITIES HARBOR GENETIC DIFFERENCES AT THE SITE OF THE APOE GENE. THIS IS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO STUDY POPULATIONS SEPARATELY AND TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THEIR GENETIC BACKGROUND, ALSO CALLED LOCAL ANCESTRY WHEN ANALYZING THE GENETIC EFFECT ON THE DISEASE. WE PROPOSE TO EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOCAL ANCESTRY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN HISPANIC AND AD RISK GENES. WE WILL FACILITATE THE DISCOVERY OF ETHNIC SPECIFIC GENETIC GENES INCREASING THE RISK FOR AD. THIS APPROACH WILL ALLOW US TO MOVE A FURTHER STEP TOWARD PERSONALIZED AND PRECISION MEDICINE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018556F NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JESSICA YOUNG, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018656S) PROBING THE ROLE OF THE ENDOCYTIC NETWORK IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE USING HUMAN NEURONAL MODELS. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS A DEVASTATING NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDER THAT IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF DEMENTIA IN THE ELDERLY AND IS A TREMENDOUS SOCIOECONOMIC BURDEN. STEM CELLS DERIVED FROM HUMAN PATIENTS CAN HELP DISCOVER NEW THERAPEUTICS FOR AD BECAUSE INDIVIDUAL GENETIC BACKGROUND IS CAPTURED IN A DISH AND STEM CELLS CAN BE DIFFERENTIATED INTO NEURONS, A RELEVANT CELL TYPE TO ANALYZE MOLECULARFEATURES. MY PROPOSAL WILL TEST WHETHER GENES IDENTIFIED WITH AD RISK CONFER MEASURABLE LABORATORY READ-OUTS CHARACTERISTIC OF AD IN NEURONS GROWN IN THE LABORATORY. IN PARTICULAR, I WILL FOCUS ON A PARTICULAR CELLULAR PATHWAY, THE ENDOSOMAL NETWORK, WHICH MAY BECOME DYSFUNCTIONAL IN AD BEFORE AMYLOID AND TAU DEPOSITION ARE REPORTED. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018656S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY DANIEL GESCHWIND, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018700S) A MULTI-LEVEL UNDERSTANDING OF GLIAL SIGNALING IN NEURODEGENERATIVE TAUOPATHY USING INTEGRATIVE TRANSCRIPTOMIC NETWORK ANALYSIS. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: RECENT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES SUGGEST THAT MULTIPLE CELL TYPES MIGHT PARTICIPATE IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND UNDERSTANDING THE KEY PLAYERS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON DEMENTIA WOULD ADVANCE OUR ABILITY TO DESIGN NEW DRUGS AND THERAPIES. HOWEVER, THE COMPLEXITY OF BRAIN'S DIFFERENT CELL TYPES PRESENTS A UNIQUE CHALLENGE TO SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY. HERE I PROPOSE WORK TO BRIDGE THE DIVIDE BY USING CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY TO PROFILE THE DIFFERENT CELLS OF THE DEMENTIA BRAIN AT UNPRECEDENTED RESOLUTION. THE RESULTS OF THIS WORK WILL BE NEW CANDIDATE DRUG TARGETS FOR DEMENTIA AND A NEW APPROACH FOR STUDYING COMPLEX BRAIN DISEASES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018700S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY CHARLES GLABE, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018718S) NECROPTOSIS AND NEURODEGENERATION IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: IN THE CONTINUOUSLY AGING, MODERN POPULATION OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISMS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT TO AGE-RELATED, NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE. DISTURBANCES IN CELLULAR REGULATION, E.G., ON THE LEVEL OF THE SIGNALING OF CELL DEATH MIGHT SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE OCCURRENCE, PROPAGATION AND SEVERITY OF PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL STATES SUCH AS THE OCCURRENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). ESPECIALLY, CELL DEATH PATHWAYS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THE PROGRESSION OF THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE, ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF AD, ARE OF HIGHEST INTEREST. IMPORTANTLY, DETAILED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC TYPE OF INFLAMMATORY CELL DEATH PATHWAY, ITS SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION IN AD BRAINS MIGHT ALLOW US TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES TO PREVENT NEURODEGENERATION. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018718S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: MAYO CLINIC JACKSONVILLE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY NA ZHAO, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018777F) EFFECTS OF APOE ISOFORMS ON BRAIN INSULIN SIGNALING AND ENERGY METABOLISM IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: STUDIES SHOW THAT HAVING APOLIPOPROTEIN E4 (APOE4) GENE INCREASES A PERSON'S RISK FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). THE PERSONS, WHO HAVE AD AND/OR APOE4 GENE, HAVE PROBLEMS WITH OBTAINING ENERGY IN THEIR BRAIN. INSULIN IS A DRUG THAT COULD HELP WITH THE PROCESS OF BREAKING DOWN SUBSTANCES IN THE CELLS TO OBTAIN ENERGY. THUS WE WOULD LIKE TO USE ANIMAL MODELS TO LOOK AT WHETHER INSULIN CAN RESCUE THE BRAIN ENERGY IN THE ANIMALS THAT HAS AD AND/OR APOE4 GENE. OUR FINDINGS WILL BE VERY USEFUL IN UNDERSTANDING HOW APOE4 IMPAIRS BRAIN HEALTH AND HOW WE CAN USE INSULIN AS AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR AD. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018777F NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY ZHUOHAO HE, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018802S) STUDY AN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE SPECIFIC TAU STRAIN. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS DEFINED BY THE PRESENCE OF AMYLOID PLAQUES AND TAU TANGLES IN THE BRAIN ASSOCIATED WITH MEMORY LOSS; HOWEVER, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PATIENTS WITH AD HAVE NON-MEMORY SYMPTOMS, SUCH AS LANGUAGE OR VISUOSPATIAL IMPAIRMENT. THE UNDERLYING BIOLOGY OF THESE NON-AMNESTIC AD PATIENTS IS UNDERSTUDIED. FURTHER UNDERSTANDING OF THE GENETIC INFLUENCE AND PROGRESSION OF TAU PATHOLOGY IN NON-AMNESTIC AD WILL IMPROVE THE DIAGNOSIS OF PATIENTS WHO MAY BENEFIT FROM EMERGING THERAPIES THAT AIM TO HALT OR SLOW THE PROGRESSION OF PLAQUES AND TANGLES IN THE BRAIN AND ALSO IDENTIFY NEW GENETIC TARGETS FOR DRUG DEVELOPMENT IN AD. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018802S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY OTTAVIO ARANCIO, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018816S) TAU-INDUCED DAMAGE AT HIPPOCAMPAL TRIPARTITE SYNAPSES. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: THE COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS THAT CHARACTERIZE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) ARE THOUGHT TO RESULT FROM IMPAIRED COMMUNICATION BETWEEN NEURONS IN THE BRAIN AT CONNECTIONS CALLED SYNAPSES. TOXIC FORMS OF A PROTEIN CALLED TAU PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN AD AND OTHER NEURODEGENERATIVE CONDITIONS, AND RECENT DATA SHOW THAT TAU CAN INTERFERE WITH SYNAPSES IN MULTIPLE WAYS. THESE OBSERVATIONS GREATLY COMPLICATE EFFORTS TO TREAT AD BY BLOCKING THE PATHOLOGICAL ACTIONS OF TAU. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW TAU INTERFERES WITH SYNAPTIC FUNCTION SO THAT WE CAN DEVELOP EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO BLOCK THE IMPAIRMENTS IT CAUSES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018816S SCHEDULE I, PART II, LINE 1, COLUMN (H): NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JEREMY STRAIN, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2018817F) WHITE MATTER HYPERINTENSITY LOCALIZATION AND SEVERITY IN ASSOCIATION WITH PET TAU IN ALZHEIMER DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: EACH OF THE AIMS OF THIS PROJECT ARE DIRECTED AT UNDERSTANDING HOW AND WHERE STRUCTURAL CONNECTIONS IN THE BRAIN ARE DAMAGED IN TWO VARIANTS OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). WE DISCUSS TWO KNOWN CAUSES OF WHITE MATTER DAMAGE COMMONLY SEEN IN THIS POPULATION THAT CAN BE DETECTED BY COMBINING DIFFERENT NEUROIMAGING AND ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES THAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF PERFORMING. THIS WILL IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIOLOGICAL CORRELATES THAT CHARACTERIZE THIS DISEASE AND THE SUBTLE DIFFERENCES IN PROGRESSION BETWEEN THESE TWO TYPES OF AD. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2018817F NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY EDOARDO MARCORA, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2017458S) UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF APOLIPOPROTEIN E IN MICROGLIA. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING ON AWARD WITH NON-TECH ABSTRACT: HUMAN GENETIC STUDIES STRONGLY POINT TO APOLIPOPROTEIN E (APOE) AND MICROGLIA (THE IMMUNE CELLS OF THE BRAIN) AS, RESPECTIVELY, THE MOST IMPORTANT GENE AND CELL TYPE IN THE CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT LEADS TO ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD), A COMMON DISORDER IN THE ELDERLY IN WHICH THE BRAIN IS DAMAGED AND MEMORIES FALTER. IN NORMAL CONDITIONS, MICROGLIAL CELLS DO NOT MAKE APOE; HOWEVER, IN DISEASE CONDITIONS, THEY SENSE THE BRAIN DAMAGE AND RESPOND BY CHURNING OUT APOE. IT IS UNCLEAR WHY THIS OCCURS AND THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION BY INVESTIGATING WHAT HAPPENS TO MICE WITHOUT THE APOE GENE IN THEIR MICROGLIA AFTER THEY EXPERIENCE BRAIN STRESS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/A2017458S NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: HUMAN COMPUTATION INSTITUTE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY PIETRO MICHELUCCI, PHD, ENTITLED: (CA2017606) CROWD POWERED MICROVASCULAR MODELING PHASE 2. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: THE CENTRAL AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO ACCELERATE RESEARCH INTO POTENTIAL ALZHEIMER'S TREATMENTS TARGETING THE BRAIN MICROVASCULATURE. THIS WILL BE DONE THROUGH OUR EYEONALZ PROJECT, WHICH USES CITIZEN SCIENCE (A FORM OF CROWDSOURCING). WITHOUT THIS CROWDSOURCED PROGRAM, THE SAME RESEARCH WOULD OTHERWISE TAKE DECADES TO COMPLETE. OUR APPROACH IS TO TRANSFORM A TIME-CONSUMING LABORATORY TASK INTO AN ONLINE GAME THAT ANYONE CAN PLAY. PROJECT SUCCESS DEPENDS UPON RECRUITING AND SUSTAINING AN ACTIVE POPULATION OF PUBLIC VOLUNTEERS AND IMPROVING OUR ABILITY TO EXTRACT RESEARCH VALUE FROM EACH PARTICIPANT. WE ALSO HOPE THIS PROJECT PROVIDES A HANDS-ON WAY FOR PEOPLE AFFECTED BY ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON THEIR OWN FUTURE OR THAT OF A LOVED ONE, AND THAT IT EDUCATES THE GENERAL PUBLIC ABOUT THE DISEASE. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EYESONALZ, VISIT WWW.EYESONALZ.COM. NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: HUMAN COMPUTATION INSTITUTE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY PIETRO MICHELUCCI, PHD, ENTITLED: (CA2016629) CROWD-POWERED MICROVASCULAR MODELING. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE FY16 AWARD: CORNELL UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS HAVE MADE BREAKTHROUGH DISCOVERIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF BRAIN BLOOD FLOW IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD), BUT MORE EVIDENCE IS NEEDED TO ESTABLISH WHETHER FREEING STALLED CAPILLARIES MIGHT RESULTS IN A POSSIBLE TREATMENT APPROACH. THE PROBLEM IS THAT IT TAKES AN ENTIRE YEAR TO ANALYZE THE DATA NEEDED TO ANSWER EACH RESEARCH QUESTION, AND PROGRESS TO DATE HAS BEEN VERY SLOW. "STALL CATCHERS" IS A CITIZEN SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECT DEVELOPED BY THE HUMAN COMPUTATION INSTITUTE IN COLLABORATION WITH CORNELL INVESTIGATORS CHRIS SCHAFFER AND NOZOMI NISHIMURA AIMED AT SPEEDING UP CORNELL'S DATA ANALYSIS BY TURNING IT INTO AN ONLINE GAME THAT ANYONE CAN PLAY. OUR PHASE I GOAL IS TO SEE WHETHER THOUSANDS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPANTS CAN ANALYZE THE RESEARCH DATA JUST AS ACCURATELY AS LAB EXPERTS, BUT BY WORKING TOGETHER, DO IT MUCH FASTER. IN PHASE II, WE WILL APPLY THE VALIDATED CROWD ENGINE TO NEW EXPERIMENTAL DATA TO SEE IF WE CAN REDUCE THE TIME TO A TREATMENT TARGET FROM DECADES TO JUST A FEW YEARS. THIS IS THE FIRST CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT SUPPORTING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) RESEARCH. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/CA2016629 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: MAYO CLINIC, JACKSONVILLE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: (CA2017563) MOLECULAR NEURODEGENERATION JOURNAL. WE PARTNER WITH BIOMED CENTRAL'S OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL,MOLECULAR NEURODEGENERATION(MN), WHICH IS THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF BRIGHTFOCUS. THE OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHING MODEL PROVIDES FREE ARTICLES TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, AS WELL AS SCIENTISTS, CLINICIANS, AND OTHER HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS. MN PUBLISHES PEER-REVIEWED, ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON THE CAUSES OF NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES, SUCH AS ALZHEIMER'S OR PARKINSON AND ON THE PRE-CLINICAL TESTING OF POTENTIAL THERAPIES FOR THESE DEVASTATING DISEASES. MN HAS AN IMPACT SCORE OF 6.78, MEANING THE JOURNAL IS NOW THE HIGHEST RANKING OPEN ACCESS NEUROSCIENCE JOURNAL IN THE JOURNAL CITATION REPORTS. NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF DENVER. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY ANN CHARLOTTE GRANHOLM-BENTLEY, PHD, ENTITLED: (CA2018010) INTERNATIONAL BRAIN BANK FOR DOWN SYNDROME-RELATED ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IN DOWN SYNDROME(DS) PRIOR TO THE ONSET OF DEMENTIA. THE FIRST AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BANK AND DISTRIBUTE HIGH QUALITY BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH SAMPLES, LINKED TO CLINICAL DATA, FROM BOTH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COHORTS OF PEOPLE WITH DOWN SYNDROME AND DEMENTIA, AND DEVELOP AN INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTED NEUROPATHOLOGICAL STAGING PROTOCOL FOR THIS VULNERABLE POPULATION. THE SECOND GOAL IS TO MAKE THESE SAMPLES AVAILABLE TO FACILITATE COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH STUDIES INTO BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF DS-RELATED AD THAT MAY ALSO BE TRANSLATABLE TO THE GENERAL POPULATION WITH AD. THE THIRD GOAL IS TO PERFORM COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH STUDIES ON EARLY EVENTS IN THE AD PROCESS IN PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, COLLABORATING WITH MANY DIFFERENT RESEARCH GROUPS IN THE USA AND EUROPE, WITH THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF DEVELOPING NEW THERAPEUTIC TARGETS FOR THOSE WITH DS AND DEMENTIA, AS WELL AS FOR THOSE WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND OTHER DEMENTIAS IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. THIS PROJECT IS UNIQUE IN THAT IT IS THE ONLY FUNDED BIOBANK CONSORTIUM IN THE US FOCUSED ON PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AS THEY AGE AND ACCRUE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND OTHER DEMENTIAS. THIS POPULATION HAS INCREASED THEIR LIFE SPAN SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THE LAST FEW DECADES, BUT FEW STUDIES HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON STUDYING THIS MEDICALLY UNDERSTUDIED GROUP. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/CA2018010 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY MARK HENKEMEYER, PHD, ENTITLED: (A2016345S) EPHB RECEPTORS: NOVEL PRO-SYNAPTIC THERAPEUTIC TARGETS FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: SUPPLEMENTAL ON EXISTING FY16 AWARD WITH THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTION: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE SLOWLY PROGRESSES AS MORE AND MORE SYNAPSES IN THE BRAIN ARE DESTROYED AND THIS CAUSES A GRADUAL DECLINE IN MEMORIES THAT INEVITABLY LEADS TO DEMENTIA AND DEATH. EPHB RECEPTORS ARE IMPORTANT PROTEINS FOR SYNAPSE FUNCTION AND HEALTH AS THEY HOLD HANDS WITH THE NMDA RECEPTOR PROTEIN TO HELP OUR BRAINS STORE MEMORIES. EPHB ALSO HAS THE UNFORTUNATE ABILITY TO HOLD HANDS WITH PLAQUE-FORMING AMYLOID-BETA (A-BETA) PEPTIDES MADE TO EVER INCREASING LEVELS IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND THIS TARGETS EPHB FOR DEGRADATION RESULTING IN A REDUCTION IN MEMORIES. USING NOVEL HIGH-THROUGHPUT SCREENS OF SMALL DRUG-LIKE CHEMICAL LIBRARIES FOR COMPOUNDS THAT DISRUPT THE ABILITY OF EPHB TO BIND WITH A-BETA, I AIM TO DISCOVER A NEW CLASS OF MEDICINES THAT WILL HALT THE DESTRUCTION OF SYNAPSES AND AVERT MEMORY LOSS WITH DIRECT IMPLICATION FOR THE PREVENTION OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. SCHEDULE I, PART II, LINE 1, COLUMN (H): NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH BY JILL GOLDSTEIN, PHD, ENTITLED: (CA2018607) DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICAL ALGORITHM TO IDENTIFY RISK FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IN EARLY MIDLIFE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: 18% OF THE U.S. IS GREATER THAN 60 YEARS OF AGE, WITH PROJECTIONS OF 25-30% BY 2050. THUS, HEALTHY AGING IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME. MAINTAINING INTACT COGNITIVE FUNCTION IS CRITICAL TO THAT END. MOST WORK ON COGNITIVE AGING AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) BEGINS WITH PEOPLE GREATER THAN 65 YEARS. HOWEVER, WE NOW KNOW THAT SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT LIKELY SHOULD BEGIN IN EARLY MIDLIFE. WE HAVE AN UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A "LIVING LABORATORY" FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF BIOMARKERS AND TARGETS FOR THERAPEUTICS TO ENHANCE ONE'S RESILIENCE TO AGING AND PREVENT DECLINE IN COGNITION AND OTHER ORGAN FUNCTIONS BEGINNING IN EARLY MIDLIFE. WE ARE LEVERAGING THE PARTNERS HEALTHCARE BIOBANK BY CREATING THE BWH HEALTHY AGING TRANSLATIONAL COHORT (HATCH). THIS COHORT IS BEING CREATED AS A PLATFORM THAT WOULD PROVIDE A RESEARCH AND CLINICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE STUDY OF DISORDERS OF AGING, CREATING SUBSTANTIAL OPPORTUNITIES INVESTIGATORS AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS WITH CRITICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR PRECISION MEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE UTILIZATION. HERE, WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE A QUANTITATIVE TOOL, A CLINICAL RISK ALGORITHM, THAT INTEGRATES POLYGENIC-CLINICAL-PHYSIOLOGICAL AND NEURAL PHENOTYPING TO IDENTIFY IN EARLY MIDLIFE (AGES 45-65 YEARS) PEOPLE WHO MAY ALREADY HAVE ACCUMULATED AMYLOID PATHOLOGY AND ARE AT HIGHEST RISK FOR COGNITIVE DECLINE AND AD LATER IN LIFE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/CA2018607 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: OREGON HEALTH AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY BENJAMIN SIVYER, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018011) AXO-SOMATIC AND DENDRITIC PLASTICITY IN GLAUCOMA. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: GLAUCOMA IS A DISEASE THAT CAUSES THE DEATH OF RETINAL CELLS THAT COMMUNICATE WITH THE BRAIN. WE HAVE LITTLE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW THIS GRADUAL PROCESS OF CELL DEATH IS INFLUENCED BY OTHER CELLS IN THE RETINA AND GAINING INSIGHT INTO THESE MECHANISMS WILL ALLOW US TO DEVELOP NEW WAYS TO TREAT GLAUCOMA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018011 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY JESSICA COOKE BAILEY, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018042) GLAUCOMA EVALUATION IN THE AMISH. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: WE KNOW THAT GENETICS AND ENVIRONMENT PLAY A ROLE IN GLAUCOMA RISK, BUT MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN STUDIED ARE DIFFERENT ON MANY LEVELS INCLUDING (I) THE SPECIFIC TYPE OF GLAUCOMA THEY HAVE, (II) THEY ARE UNRELATED AND THEREFORE THEIR GENETIC BACKGROUNDS ARE COMPLICATED, AND (III) THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES VARY WIDELY. WE WANT TO STUDY GLAUCOMA IN THE AMISH, A GROUP THAT IS ESSENTIALLY A VERY LARGE FAMILY, BECAUSE (I) THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE THE SAME TYPE OF GLAUCOMA, (II) THEIR GENETIC BACKGROUNDS ARE MORE RELATED, AND THEREFORE THERE IS LESS CONFUSING GENETIC 'NOISE' TO SIFT THROUGH WHEN PERFORMING GENETIC ANALYSES, AND (III) THEY HAVE FAIRLY UNIFORM LIFESTYLES AND THEREFORE THERE ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES ARE MORE SIMILAR TO ONE ANOTHER AS COMPARED TO OTHER GROUPS IN WHICH GLAUCOMA HAS BEEN STUDIED. WE WILL EXAMINE THEIR EYES, GET DETAILED MEDICAL HISTORIES, ASK MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES AND LIFESTYLE CHOICES, AND GET BLOOD SO WE CAN STUDY THEIR GENETICS. WE THINK THAT BY UNDERSTANDING GLAUCOMA RISK IN THE AMISH, WE CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GENES AND PATHWAYS THAT INFLUENCE THIS DISEASE AND APPLY THIS KNOWLEDGE TO BETTER INFORM PREVENTATIVE AND TREATMENT STRATEGIES RELEVANT TO THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD WHO WILL LIKELY DEVELOP GLAUCOMA WITHOUT NEW WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING DISEASE RISK AND PREVENTION. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018042 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY SUCHISMITA ACHARYA, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018056) BI-FUNCTIONAL MOLECULE FOR GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: GLAUCOMA IS A BLINDING DISEASE AND IT IS ESTIMATED THAT OVER 76 MILLION PEOPLE WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS DISEASE BY 2020. IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH ELEVATED EYE PRESSURE, PROGRESSIVE DEATH OF RETINAL GANGLION CELLS (RGCS) AS WELL AS DEGENERATION OF OPTIC NERVE HEAD (WHICH CONNECTS THE BRAIN TO THE EYE). NITRIC OXIDE (A SMALL GASEOUS MOLECULE KNOWN TO ACT AS ANTI-OXIDANT, A KEY PLAYER IN RELAXING THE SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS AND PROTECTING DAMAGING BLOOD VESSELS) HAS POTENTIAL TO REDUCE EYE PRESSURE WITH HIGH POSSIBILITY OF PROTECTING THE NEURAL CELLS, HOWEVER, FREE RADICALS GENERATED DURING OPTIC NEUROPATHY MAY DEPLETE THE NITRIC OXIDE BIOAVAILABILITY. OUR GROUP IS WORKING ON DISCOVERING SUCH MULTI-FUNCTIONAL SMALL MOLECULES WHICH WILL DECREASE EYE PRESSURE AND PROTECT NEURONS, RETINAL GANGLION CELLS FROM DEATH THAT MAY BE USED FOR GLAUCOMA TREATMENT. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018056 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY JASON PORTER, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018061) HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGING OF SUPERFICIAL RETINAL VASCULAR CHANGES IN EXPERIMENTAL GLAUCOMA. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: GLAUCOMA IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF IRREVERSIBLE BLINDNESS WORLDWIDE (ESTIMATED TO AFFECT OVER 60 MILLION PEOPLE) AND IS GENERALLY CONSIDERED TO BE CAUSED BY THE DAMAGE OF RETINAL GANGLION CELL AXONS AND THE DEATH OF RETINAL GANGLION CELLS. PREVIOUS STUDIES SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT THE LOSS OF RADIAL PERIPAPILLARY CAPILLARIES MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN AXONAL DEGENERATION IN GLAUCOMA. THIS PROPOSAL WILL USE HIGH-RESOLUTION IN VIVO IMAGING TO BETTER CLARIFY CHANGES IN THE RADIAL PERIPAPILLARY CAPILLARIES AND OPTIC NERVE HEAD IN RELATION TO NEURONAL DAMAGE IN LIVING EYES WITH EXPERIMENTAL GLAUCOMA. THE RESULTS OF THE PROPOSED WORK MAY AID IN EARLIER DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF THIS DISEASE BY PROVIDING AN EARLIER STRUCTURAL MARKER FOR DETECTING GLAUCOMATOUS DAMAGE COMPARED TO CURRENT CLINICAL MEASURES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018061 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: SUNY HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY JOHN DANIAS, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018077) NEXT GENERATION EXPERIMENTAL GLAUCOMA MODEL. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: HIGH PRESSURE INSIDE THE EYE IS THE MAIN RISK FACTOR FOR DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF GLAUCOMA. WE WILL DEVELOP A NEW EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF GLAUCOMA THAT ACCURATELY MIMICS WHAT HAPPENS IN THE HUMAN EYE WHEN IT IS EXPOSED TO HIGH PRESSURE. WE WILL USE THIS MODEL TO DETERMINE AND QUANTIFY THE RATE OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY GLAUCOMA TO OCULAR STRUCTURES AND THE VISUAL FUNCTION AND DETERMINE THE BIOMECHANICAL RESPONSE OF EYE TISSUES TO HIGH PRESSURE IN THE EYE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018077 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY F. KENT HAMRA, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018080) TRANSGENIC BROWN NORWAY RATS FOR GLAUCOMA RESEARCH. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: GLAUCOMA IS THE WORLD'S LEADING CAUSE OF IRREVERSIBLE BLINDNESS. THIS BRIGHTFOCUS FOUNDATION RESEARCH GRANT WILL APPLY NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO CREATE BROWN NORWAY RAT MODELS THAT DEVELOP HUMAN-LIKE FORMS OF GLAUCOMA. "HUMANIZED" RAT MODELS GENERATED BY THIS PROJECT WILL BE USED BY EYE RESEARCHERS TO FIND NEW THERAPIES THAT SPECIFICALLY NEUTRALIZE THE HUMAN GLAUCOMA-CAUSING GENES, THEREBY PREVENTING GLAUCOMA IN THE RATS. THERAPIES THAT PREVENT GLAUCOMA FROM DEVELOPING IN THE HUMANIZED RAT GLAUCOMA MODELS WILL PROVIDE CANDIDATE THERAPEUTICS FOR BATTLING GLAUCOMA IN HUMANS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018080 SCHEDULE I, PART II, LINE 1, COLUMN (H): NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY MONICA JABLONSKI, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018116) NEW GLAUCOMA MODELS MINED FROM AN INBRED GENETIC REFERENCE PANEL. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED BY GLAUCOMA AND SOME LOSE THEIR VISION DUE TO THIS DISEASE. TO DEVELOP NEW DRUGS TO TREAT GLAUCOMA OR TO UNDERSTAND WHY GLAUCOMA CAUSES VISION LOSS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE ACCURATE MODELS OF THE DISEASE. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH MODELS AVAILABLE THAT TRULY REFLECT THE HUMAN DISEASE. WE HOPE TO CHANGE THAT. IN OUR STUDY, WE WILL IDENTIFY AND CHARACTERIZE NEW GLAUCOMA MODELS THAT SHARE THE DISEASE PHENOTYPE OF HUMANS. THESE MODELS WILL BE A VERY USEFUL RESOURCE FOR ALL VISION SCIENTISTS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018116 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, MILLER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY XIANGRUN HUANG, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018148) SPECTRAL CONTRAST OF RETINAL NERVE FIBER LAYER REFLECTANCE: A NEW MEANS FOR SENSITIVE DETECTION OF GLAUCOMATOUS DAMAGE. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: GLAUCOMA, A LEADING CAUSE OF BLINDNESS WORLDWIDE, DAMAGES A TYPE OF NEURONAL CELLS CALLED RETINAL GANGLION CELLS AND THEIR NERVE FIBERS, KNOWN AS AXONS, IN THE EYE. EARLY DETECTION OF ABNORMITIES OF THE NERVE FIBERS CAN PERMIT EARLY MEDICAL INTERVENTION TO PREVENT VISION LOSS OF GLAUCOMATOUS PATIENTS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL DEVELOP A NEW OPTICAL IMAGING METHOD THAT DETECTS ABNORMITIES OF THE LIGHT REFLECTED BY THE NERVE FIBERS. THE NEW APPROACH CAN PROVIDE SENSITIVE DETECTION OF THE ABNORMITIES THAT OCCUR AT EARLY STAGES OF GLAUCOMA. IF SUCCESSFUL, THE DEVELOPED METHODS CAN BE READILY TRANSLATED TO CLINICAL USE AND PROVIDE CLINICIANS WITH A NEW MEANS TO SENSITIVELY DETECT EARLY GLAUCOMATOUS DAMAGE, OPENING AN EARLY THERAPEUTIC WINDOW FOR THE PREVENTION OF GLAUCOMATOUS DAMAGE AND VISION LOSS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018148 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY ROBERT W. NICKELLS, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018166) THE PATHOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTION OF CELL ADHESION DISRUPTION IN RGC DEATH. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: IN ORDER FOR CELLS TO FUNCTION NORMALLY THEY NEED TO MAKE CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER CELLS AND WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT. BREAKING THESE CONNECTIONS WILL CAUSE DEATH. WE BELIEVE THAT RETINAL GANGLION CELLS LOSE THESE CONNECTIONS AFTER OPTIC NERVE DAMAGE AND THAT THIS MAY BE ONE OF THE IMPORTANT INITIATORS OF THEIR DEATH IN GLAUCOMA. UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LINK BETWEEN GANGLION CELL CONNECTIONS AND GANGLION CELL DEATH MAY HELP US DEVELOP WAYS TO PREVENT THIS PATHOLOGY IN OPTIC NEUROPATHIES LIKE GLAUCOMA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018166 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY BIJI MATHEW, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018168) NOVEL CELL-FREE TREATMENT OF GLAUCOMA. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: RETINAL GANGLION CELL DEATH AND AXONAL LOSS ARE HALL MARK EVENTS LEADING TO GLAUCOMA AND, NEUROPROTECTION OF RETINA BY REGENERATION, OR PREVENTION OF CELLS FROM DYING, ARE KEY FACTORS AND MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH NECESSITIES. OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO STUDY THE USE OF EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES (EV), TINY PARTICLES SECRETED BY MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS, AS A TREATMENT FOR GLAUCOMA INDUCED CELL DEATH. DELIVERING THE EV SPECIFICALLY INTO THE RETINA AND PROLONGING THE EFFECT, ARE MAJOR LIMITATIONS REDUCING THE TREATMENT EFFICACY. THEREFORE, OUR STUDY IS FOCUSED TO ENGINEER MODIFIED TARGETED EV FOR RETINA-SPECIFIC NEUROPROTECTIVE ACTION FOR TREATING GLAUCOMA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018168 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF AKRON. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY ROUZBEH AMINI, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018177) IN-VIVO ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN IRIS MECHANICAL PROPERTIES. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: THE SHAPE OF THE IRIS AND HOW IT DEFORMS IN RESPONSE TO LIGHT (I.E. PUPIL DILATION OR CONSTRICTION) ARE IMPORTANT FACTORS IN UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISM OF GLAUCOMA. SIMILAR TO ANY OTHER TISSUE THAT DEFORMS (E.G. BLOOD VESSELS OR SKELETAL MUSCLES), IF THE IRIS IS STIFFER, IT DEFORMS DIFFERENTLY, WHICH HAS BEEN THE CASE IN SOME GLAUCOMA PATIENTS. UNLIKE PREVIOUS STUDIES, IN WHICH SURGICALLY REMOVED PIECES OF THE IRIS WERE USED FOR QUANTIFYING THE STIFFNESS, WE AIM TO COMBINE NONINVASIVE IMAGINING TECHNIQUES CURRENTLY USED IN EYE CLINICS WITH A NOVEL COMPUTER MODEL TO ESTIMATE IRIS STIFFNESS. WE ALSO AIM TO UNDERSTAND HOW STIFFENING OF THE IRIS AFFECTS THE SHAPE OF ITS COMPRISING CELLS DURING THE PUPIL'S RESPONSES TO LIGHT, BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT CELLULAR-LEVEL DEFORMATION IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE REGULATION OF ACTIVITIES IN THOSE CELLS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018177 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: STANFORD UNIVERSITY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: NATIONAL GLAUCOMA RESEARCH BY YANG HU, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (G2018183) IDENTIFY THE EFFECTORS AND REGULATORS OF ER STRESS THAT GOVERN GLAUCOMATOUS DEGENERATION. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: GLAUCOMA IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF IRREVERSIBLE BLINDNESS AND WILL AFFECT MORE THAN 100 MILLION PEOPLE BETWEEN 40 TO 80 YEARS OLD BY 2040. GLAUCOMA IS CHARACTERIZED BY OPTIC NERVE NEUROPATHY WITH RETINAL GANGLION CELL (RGC) AXON DEGENERATION FOLLOWED BY PROGRESSIVE RGC DEATH. UNDERSTANDING OF GENE REGULATION MECHANISMS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH RGC AT NORMAL FUNCTION, UNDER DISEASE OR AFTER TREATMENT ARE ESSENTIAL FOR IDENTIFYING NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS AND INNOVATIVE AND EFFICIENT NEURAL REPAIR STRATEGIES. WE ARE TAKING ADVANTAGES OF NEWLY DEVELOPED GENETIC TOOLS TO ELUCIDATE THE COMPREHENSIVE GENE REGULATORY NETWORKS AND SERVE AS A BLUEPRINT FOR DEVELOPING NOVEL AND EFFECTIVE NEUROPROTECTANTS FOR GLAUCOMA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/G2018183 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY ROSS POCHE, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018022) REAWAKENING THE REGENERATIVE POTENTIAL OF MAMMALIAN MULLER GLIAL CELLS. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: THE MULLER GLIAL CELLS (MGC) WITHIN THE RETINA OF ZEBRAFISH AND OTHER NON-MAMMALIAN VERTEBRATES EXHIBIT THE REMARKABLE ABILITY TO REGENERATE DAMAGED RETINAL TISSUE WHILE MAMMALIAN MGC CANNOT. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO IDENTIFY THE CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS FUNCTIONING AS AN INTRINSIC BLOCK TO MAMMALIAN MGC-MEDIATED RETINAL REGENERATION. WE WILL ALSO DETERMINE WHETHER BYPASSING THIS BLOCKING MECHANISM RESULTS IN MAMMALIAN RETINAL REGENERATION. SUCH A FINDING MAY LEAD TO NEW CLINICAL METHODS TO PREVENT OR REVERSE VISION LOSS DUE TO RETINAL INJURY OR DISEASE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018022 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY DIMITRA SKONDRA, MD, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018042) ROLE OF HIGH FAT DIET AND GUT MICROBIOME IN MACULAR DEGENERATION. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD), THE LEADING CAUSE OF BLINDNESS IN ADULTS OVER 50, IS A COMPLEX DISEASE IN WHICH GENETIC RISK AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS LIKE DIET PLAY IMPORTANT ROLES BUT THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH THESE INTERACT REMAIN A MYSTERY BLOCKING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CURE AND OF PREVENTION MEASURES. GUT MICROBIOME (MILLIONS OF MICROBES LIVING IN OUR GUT) PLAY A KEY ROLE IN HUMAN HEALTH AND DISEASES LIKE CANCER, ALLERGIES, DEMENTIA, ASTHMA AND ARE SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED BY DIET AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS. THE GOAL OF THIS INNOVATIVE PROPOSAL IS TO STUDY IF GUT MICROBES COULD BE THE MISSING LINK THAT CONNECTS DIET/LIFESTYLE FACTOR AND GENETIC RISK IN AMD INVESTIGATING HOW CHANGES IN THE MICROBES IN THE GUT BY DIET AFFECT AMD DEVELOPMENT AND CORRELATE WITH GENETIC RISK. THIS APPROACH WILL HELP UNCOVER MECHANISMS CAUSING AMD AND COULD PROVIDE A NEW BREAKTHROUGH INSIGHT INTO NEW TREATMENTS BY CHANGING OUR GUT MICROBIOME TO PREVENT THE LEADING CAUSE OF BLINDNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018042 SCHEDULE I, PART II, LINE 1, COLUMN (H): NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: THE SCHEPENS EYE RESEARCH INSTITUTE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY MAGALI SAINT-GENIEZ, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018064) INVESTIGATION OF A NEW TARGET IN AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: CENTRAL VISION LOSS HAS A PROFOUND IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND FUNCTIONAL ABILITY OF AFFECTED PATIENTS. IN AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD), SUCH LOSS IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE DYSFUNCTION OF A LAYER OF PIGMENTED CELLS CALLED THE RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM (RPE). THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CHARACTERIZE THE ROLE OF A PROTEIN, KNOWN TO REGULATE THE METABOLIC ACTIVITY IN CELLS, IN AMD PATHOGENESIS AND TO OFFER CRITICAL VALIDATIONS TO CURRENT CLINICAL DATA ASSOCIATING THIS PROTEIN TO THE MORE ADVANCED AND BLINDING FORM OF THE DISEASE, NEOVASCULAR AMD. RESULTS FROM THIS WORK ARE SIGNIFICANT NOT ONLY TO UNDERSTAND AMD PATHOGENESIS BUT ALSO TO OPEN UP NEW THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS FOR THE TREATMENT OF COMMON RETINAL DISEASES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018064 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY JOHN HULLEMAN, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018099) SMALL MOLECULE-BASED CONDITIONAL CONTROL OF INFLAMMATION AND COMPLEMENT ACTIVATION IN THE RETINA. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO DETERMINE WHETHER DAMPENING INFLAMMATION USING A NEWLY DEVELOPED STRATEGY CAN PREVENT A PREVALENT, CURRENTLY UNTREATABLE INHERITED EYE DISEASE, STARGARDT DISEASE. OUR APPROACH IS UNIQUE IN THAT IT CAN BE 'TURNED ON OR 'TURNED OFF' IN THE EYE WHEN NECESSARY, THEREBY MINIMIZING POTENTIAL DETRIMENTAL 'OFF TARGET' EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH CURRENT SIMILAR STRATEGIES. WE ANTICIPATE THAT THIS UNIQUE ASPECT OF OUR STRATEGY WILL MAKE IT MORE LIKELY TO BE EFFECTIVELY USED ULTIMATELY IN HUMANS WITH STARGARDT DISEASE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018099 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY XI-QIN DING, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018107) THYROID HORMONE SIGNALING REGULATION OF RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM VIABILITY. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD) IS AN EYE DISEASE MARKED BY PROGRESSIVE DEATH OF RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM CELLS (RPE) AND LIGHT-SENSITIVE NEURONS (PHOTORECEPTOR CELLS) IN THE CENTRAL (MACULAR) AREA OF THE RETINA. THE DISEASE IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF BLINDNESS IN THE ELDERLY, AND THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO CURATIVE TREATMENTS. THYROID HORMONE (TH) REGULATES CELL GROWTH, DIFFERENTIATION, AND METABOLISM, AND HAS RECENTLY BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF AMD. THIS STUDY WILL INVESTIGATE THE TH REGULATION OF RPE VIABILITY AND DETERMINE WHETHER SUPPRESSING TH SIGNALING PROTECTS RPE AGAINST OXIDATIVE DAMAGE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018107 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, MILLER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY WILLIAM SCOTT, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018112) GENETIC FACTORS ACCELERATING PROGRESSION TO ADVANCED AMD. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: AGE RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD) IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF IRREVERSIBLE BLINDNESS IN OLDER ADULTS IN THE U.S. THE FACTORS THAT DETERMINE PROGRESSION FROM EARLY AMD (WITH LITTLE VISION LOSS) TO ADVANCED AMD (WITH MORE SEVERE VISION LOSS) ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. WE WILL USE DETAILED CLINICAL EXAMINATIONS OF THE EYE AND LARGE-SCALE GENETIC ANALYSIS TO IDENTIFY NEW GENETIC FACTORS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN THE EYE OVER TIME AND WITH DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED AMD. THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY WILL IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE AMD DISEASE PROCESS AND PROVIDE POTENTIAL AVENUES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF TARGETED THERAPIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018112 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY ROSARIO FERNANDEZ-GODINO, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018115) THE ROLE OF COMPLEMENT RISK ALLELES AND TICK-OVER IN THE FORMATION OF SUB-RPE DEPOSITS AND RESPONSE TO ANTI-COMPLEMENT DRUGS IN AMD. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD) AFFECTS MORE THAN 2 MILLION INDIVIDUALS IN THE US AND IT WILL REACH 3 MILLION BY 2020. CURRENT THERAPIES CAN IMPROVE VISION ONLY IN SOME PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED AMD; UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS NO EFFECTIVE THERAPY THAT PREVENTS DISEASE PROGRESSION IN PATIENTS WITH EARLY DISEASE OR GENETIC PREDISPOSITION. MY AIM IS TO CREATE A CELL-BASED MODEL TO DISCOVER THE PRIMARY MECHANISMS ACTIVATED BY THE COMBINATION OF AGING AND GENETIC VARIANTS IN COMPLEMENT GENES IN PATIENTS WITH EARLY AMD; SO THAT DRUGS CAN BE DESIGNED TO STOP THESE MECHANISMS BEFORE THEY LEAD TO MAJOR DAMAGE AND LEGAL BLINDNESS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018115 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY JI YI, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018132) WIDE-FIELD VOLUMETRIC FLUORESCENCE ANGIOGRAPHY FOR SENSITIVE DETECTION OF RPE PERMEABILITY IN AMD. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: MACULAR DEGENERATION IS A DISEASE THAT DAMAGES THE CENTER OF THE EYE SIGHT AND CAN CAUSE BLINDNESS. THE DISEASE TAKES LONG TIME TO DEVELOP AND GRADUALLY PROGRESS TO BLINDING CONDITIONS. THE PROBLEM IS THAT WE DON'T HAVE PROPER TOOLS TO PREDICT WHEN A PATIENT'S EYE SIGHT WILL BE DAMAGED AND WHEN TO TREAT THE PATIENT BEFORE THE VISION GETS REALLY BAD. THIS PROJECT PLANS TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM BY DEVELOPING NEW TECHNIQUES TO DETECT THE DISEASE PROGRESSION. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018132 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY YINGBIN FU, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018142) A NOVEL TREATMENT STRATEGY TO TARGET THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF BOTH THE WET AND DRY FORMS OF AMD. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD) IS A DISEASE THAT BLURS THE SHARP, CENTRAL VISION YOU NEED FOR EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES SUCH AS SEEING FACES, READING, SEWING, AND DRIVING. ADVANCED AMD CAN BE CLASSIFIED INTO THE DRY FORM (GRADUAL BREAKDOWN OF THE LIGHT-SENSITIVE CELLS IN THE MACULA) AND THE WET FORM (LEAKY BLOOD VESSELS GROWING UNDER THE RETINA). THE CURRENT TREATMENT FOR WET AMD IS SUBOPTIMAL WHILE THERE IS NO TREATMENT AVAILABLE FOR DRY AMD. WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A NOVEL AND EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR BOTH THE WET AND DRY FORMS OF AMD BY USING A NEW TARGET PROTEIN. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018142 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY KARL WAHLIN, PHD, ENTITLED: (M2018175) COMPLEMENT FACTOR H MUTANT PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS TO MODEL EARLY ONSET MACULAR DEGENERATION AND THEIR APPLICATION IN DRUG DISCOVERY. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: MACULAR DEGENERATIVE DISEASE AFFECTS MILLIONS WORLDWIDE AND MODELS TO STUDY THE CONDITION IN HUMANS ARE GENERALLY LACKING. WE HAVE DEVELOPED HUMAN DISEASE BASED STEM CELL LINES THAT CAN BE READILY CONVERTED INTO RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM IN ORDER TO STUDY THE DISEASE PROCESS IN THE LABORATORY. UNIQUE TO THIS PROJECT, WE HAVE ALSO DESIGNED A FLUORESCENT PROTEIN REPORTER THAT WILL ALLOW US TO STUDY THE TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIAL CELL DYSTROPHY, THUS ALLOWING THE SYSTEMATIC OPTIMIZATION OF DRUG SCREENING AIMED AT REDUCING PROTEIN DEPOSITS TYPICAL OF AMD. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018175 NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY MARK KLEINMAN, MD, ENTITLED: (M2018193) DYSREGULATION OF THE ACETYLOME IN AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: WE ARE JUST BEGINNING TO GAIN SCIENTIFIC INSIGHT INTO THE POWER OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS ON GENOME-WIDE TRANSCRIPTION. IN THIS PROPOSAL, A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT ROLE FOR HISTONE DEACETYLASE FUNCTION IN RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIAL CELL GENE EXPRESSION PROFILES AND CELL DEATH IN DRY AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION WILL BE STUDIED. THESE DATA WILL PROVIDE IMPORTANT MOLECULAR INSIGHTS TO ENHANCE OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMPLEX INTERSECTION OF AGING BIOLOGY, EPIGENETICS AND INFLAMMATION. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/M2018193 SCHEDULE I, PART II, LINE 1, COLUMN (H): NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: HELEN KELLER FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH & EDUCATION. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: 2017 HELEN KELLER PRIZE FOR VISION RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP. THE HELEN KELLER PRIZE FOR VISION RESEARCH RECOGNIZES SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN VISION RESEARCH, AND PROVIDES FUNDS FOR CONTINUANCE OF THOSE STUDIES. NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: HELEN KELLER FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH & EDUCATION. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: 2018 HELEN KELLER PRIZE FOR VISION RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP. THE HELEN KELLER PRIZE FOR VISION RESEARCH RECOGNIZES SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN VISION RESEARCH, AND PROVIDES FUNDS FOR CONTINUANCE OF THOSE STUDIES. NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: DEAN MCGEE EYE INSTITUTE. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: 16TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON RETINAL DEGENERATION 2018 MEETING - EXISTS TO FACILITATE KNOWLEDGE SHARING AMONGST RESEARCHERS IN THE AMD COMMUNITY AND OTHER RETINAL DISORDERS. NAME OF ORGANIZATION OR GOVERNMENT: SCHEIE EYE INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. (H) PURPOSE OF GRANT: MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH BY BENJAMIN KIM, MD, ENTITLED: (CM2016971) THERAPEUTIC EVALUATION OF ALPHA LIPOIC ACID FOR GEOGRAPHIC ATROPHY. INVESTIGATOR'S SUMMARY: SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING ON AWARD WITH NON-TECH ABSTRACT: THE BLINDING LESIONS OF THE GEOGRAPHIC ATROPHY (GA) FORM OF ADVANCED AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD) ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR 20 PERCENT OF THE LEGAL BLINDNESS IN NORTH AMERICA. RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT OXIDATIVE STRESS AND IRON OVERLOAD AT THE RETINA ARE MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THESE ATROPHIC LESIONS IN AMD, CONSISTING OF LOCALIZED AREAS OF DEAD CELLS. CURRENTLY THERE IS NO TREATMENT AVAILABLE; HOWEVER, THERE IS INTEREST IN A POTENT ANTIOXIDANT AND IRON CHELATOR CALLED ALPHA LIPOIC ACID. A CHELATING AGENT IS A SUBSTANCE WHOSE MOLECULES CAN FORM SEVERAL BONDS TO A SINGLE METAL ION, THUS SUPPRESSING ITS CHEMICAL ACTIVITY. ALPHA LIPOIC ACID IS FOUND IN MANY FOOD SOURCES, INCLUDING SPINACH, BROCCOLI, AND POTATOES; IT ALSO IS MANUFACTURED FOR USE AS A SUPPLEMENT. THROUGH A PHASE II PILOT CLINICAL TRIAL, WE ARE TESTING ALPHA LIPOIC ACID AS A TREATMENT FOR GA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE BRIGHTFOCUS WEBSITE: WWW.BRIGHTFOCUS.ORG/GRANT/CM2016971 NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LLC 22512 GATEWAY CENTER DRIVE CLARKSBURG MD 20871 237337229 PROPERTY RENTAL AND MANAGEMENT MD 568259 4415046 BRIGHTFOCUS FOUNDATION AMERICAN HEALTH ASSISTANCE LLC 22512 GATEWAY CENTER DRIVE CLARKSBURG MD 20871 237337229 OWNER OF BRIGHTFOCUS HEADQUARTERS MD 0 3815377 BRIGHTFOCUS FOUNDATION