CART News
CART Fund Awards Record Grant Totals in 2024
The top award, the Roger Ackerman Memorial Grant for $300,000, will be presented to Ana Griciuc, Ph.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Her project is titled “Utilizing CD33-targeting antisense
oligonucleotides to reduce Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology.”
The next award, the Dr. John Trojanowski Memorial Grant for $300,000, will be presented to Amy Nelson, Ph.D., from Gulf Coast Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Her research will focus on “Determining the role of caldesmon in MCI/AD pericyte vascular function."
Dr. Marcia Gordon, Ph.D., from Michigan State University will also receive a $300,000 grant to study the “Role of Microglial Cellular Senescence in a Mouse Model with Amyloid-Induced Tauopathy."
Two additional grant awards of $250,000 each will be presented to:
Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D. (University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine): “Understanding the complex interplay between genetic factors and social determinants of health in AD risk."
Nicholas Tonks, Ph.D. (NCI Cancer Center, Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory (New York, NY): “ A new
approach to treatment of Alzheimer’s disease through inhibitors of PTP1B”.
The five grant recipients will attend The C|ART Fund's Annual Meeting in May in Columbia, SC, to receive the first installment of their grant and to give a brief presentation on their research. The public is invited to attend the event on Tuesday, May 7, at Seawell's. The cost to attend is $45 and includes buffet lunch. Guests can also attend by zoom at no charge, but registration is required for either option.
St Petersburg Rotary Golf Tournament Was A Big HIT
Rotary Club of Anderson (SC) Donates $10,000
CART VP Carol Burdette and Club President Liz Brock presented the check along with volunteers Hugh & Rita Burgess!
Winder, GA Rotary Contribution
Thank you to the Rotary Club of Winder (GA-D6910) on their recent contribution to CART recognizing Rotary's annual Disease Prevention & Treatment Awareness Month!! They invited District CART Chair Elaine Cook to attend a club meeting for the presentation!
Well done by these #PeopleOfAction!!!
CART VP Recognized
McRae Rotary Club Holiday Parade (GA-District 6920)
Naples (FL) Rotary Club Donation
Casper, Wyoming Joins CART
Looks like lots of coins and cash were collected on their first day when they enjoyed a "virtual" introduction to CART by Executive Director Tiffany Ervin via zoom.
Partnership with Civic Swag
You can visit their website and learn more here!
CART Receives Million Dollar Donation
If you are interested in making a major gift to fund research for the prevention, treatment or cure for Alzheimer's Disease, or would like to discuss leaving a gift to CART in your estate, please contact Executive Director Tiffany Ervin.
What is CART?
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Roger Ackerman Circle - Recurring Donor Program
We are so excited to offer this limited-edition lapel pin for donors who commit to a recurring donation of a minimum of $5/month via our online donor portal! If you have already enrolled but haven't yet received your pin, please let us know so we can make arrangements to present it soon!
If you haven't signed up yet, you still can! Just go to mycartfund.org to make a contribution & select “recurring gift” (monthly, quarterly or annually)
Paddle for The Cure Raises $18,000 - Lake Wylie Rotary (SC)
There were lots of activities, including 5K kayak and paddle boat races, a 2K race for the 12-17 year olds, a silent auction, live music, a 50/50, children activities and of course, great food.
Meet Dr. Gopal Thinakaran (Univ. of South Florida)
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
$250,000 Dr. John Q. Trojanowski Grant
CART Research: Epitranscriptomic Modulation of Tau Pathology through m6A RNA Methylation
Recent advances in large-scale sequence analysis have ignited an interest in the characterization of N6 - methyladenosine (m6 A) RNA modification. The m6 A is the most prevalent RNA methylation in eukaryotes. This RNA modification is initiated by methylases, removed by RNA demethylases, and recognized by m6 A-binding proteins, namely so-called m6 A writers, erasers, and readers. This dynamic and reversible modification has revealed a new dimension to gene expression by regulating protein synthesis, generating protein isoforms by splicing and editing, and modulating RNA lifespan.
You can watch a video of Dr. Thinakaran's presentation here.
Understanding the importance of m6 A modification in brain functions and its potential involvement in brain diseases is a nascent field of study. Recently published studies have predicted that m6 A RNA methylation could be potentially involved in neuronal mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). For example, changes in the levels of m6 A writers, erasers, and readers have been found in individuals with cognitive impairment. Nevertheless, very little is experimentally known about the impact of m6 A modification on AD pathophysiology. The aggregation of misfolded tau protein within tangles in the brain is a pathological hallmark of AD.
A recent study linked small tau aggregates with cellular structures called stress granules, which recruit RNA-binding proteins and m6 A-modified transcripts. Moreover, m6 A is a novel and essential regulator of anti-inflammatory and proinflammatory responses. Thus, there is a compelling rationale for investigating how m6 A modulates AD-associated tau pathology and inflammatory responses. To address the significant knowledge gap in the role of m6 A in AD pathophysiology, we propose focusing on YTHDF1, a key m6 A reader, and investigating the role of m6 A methylation in tau pathogenesis.
Aim 1: To test the hypothesis that YTHDF1 modulates cerebral tau burden and neuroinflammation.
Aim 2: To identify m6 A transcripts that directly bind to YTHDF1 during tau pathogenesis.
A recent study linked small tau aggregates with cellular structures called stress granules, which recruit RNA-binding proteins and m6 A-modified transcripts. Moreover, m6 A is a novel and essential regulator of anti-inflammatory and proinflammatory responses. Thus, there is a compelling rationale for investigating how m6 A modulates AD-associated tau pathology and inflammatory responses. To address the significant knowledge gap in the role of m6 A in AD pathophysiology, we propose focusing on YTHDF1, a key m6 A reader, and investigating the role of m6 A methylation in tau pathogenesis.
Aim 1: To test the hypothesis that YTHDF1 modulates cerebral tau burden and neuroinflammation.
Aim 2: To identify m6 A transcripts that directly bind to YTHDF1 during tau pathogenesis.
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Rotary Club of Greensboro, NC Donates $30,000 To CART
District Governor Debbie Scott was in attendance for the check presentation, along with CART Board President Rod Funderburk and Executive Director Tiffany Ervin.
Roger Ackerman Memorial Grant Awarded - $300,000
CART Research: Integrin mediated communication between endothelial cells and pericytes regulates vascular function in Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of misfolded proteins, primarily amyloid beta and tau that lead to cognitive decline. Research focusing on the removal of misfolded protein has only had very limited clinical success, suggesting that other factors are essential to study.
Vascular dysfunction has recently appeared to be a key player in disease pathology, but we still know very little about how vascular function is altered in Alzheimer’s disease and how we can reverse it.
In this project, we have identified that CD49a, a protein of the integrin family, that mediate cell-cell interaction and anchoring of cells within their microenvironment, is a potential regulator of vascular function. With this grant, we will investigate the mechanisms that CD49a uses to regulate vascular function, and interrogate if manipulating CD49a in the brain is a therapeutic strategy to improve clinical symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease.
You can learn more from Dr. Louveau by watching his presentation here.
Rotary magazine - May Issue
You can read it online here.