Amanda Orr
Project Title: 3D bioprinting patient-derived neural tissues for screening potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
Co-funding Partner: Michael Smith Health Research BC
Grant Name: 2023 Trainee Award, jointly funded by MS Health Research & CLEAR
Grant Duration: 2023-2026 (three years)
Research Lay Summary:
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and continues to affect more people globally due to the aging population. AD currently has no treatment or prevention options aside from symptom alleviation, making it a high priority in medical research.
Despite years of research, no AD treatments have been discovered since most studies have used tissue replicas (or models) that do not accurately act like the brain. This has led to the presumed success of treatments in research, but failure in clinical testing in animal models.
The use of three-dimensional (3D) models that contain brain cells organized in a more accurate 3D structure will allow for a better understanding of AD, which is the focus of this work.
Patient-specific AD models will be used to test various drugs, including those with current approval for other diseases. The proposed research will provide new insight into AD treatments by using more accurate AD models to better understand this complex disease in research. The 3D tissue models will allow for better screening of treatment options, ultimately bringing us closer to a cure for Alzheimer disease.