$154K AHA Grant to Study System Linked to Dementia & Other Diseases
Lisa Robison, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience in NSU’s College of Psychology. She is a recent recipient of an American Heart Association (AHA) award in the amount of $154,000 for her project titled “Targeting the renin-angiotensin system to ameliorate cerebral amyloid angiopathy.”
Tell me about your recent grant-funded project.
This project aims to test two drugs (Telmisartan and AVE 0991) for the prevention/treatment of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). CAA is a condition in which proteins (amyloid) build up on the walls of the blood vessels in the brain. This condition is important to investigate because it contributes to the risk of stroke, cognitive decline, and several forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. These conditions currently have no cure and are substantial public health issues due to the world’s growing aging population.
The drugs we are testing target the renin-angiotensin system. The renin-angiotensin system is most commonly associated with regulating the cardiovascular system, and drugs that target this system are used for the treatment of high blood pressure. There’s evidence to suggest that taking some of these drugs is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, but no one has looked at whether these drugs affect CAA, specifically. There are often safety issues involved in developing new medications, so by repurposing these medications, we can reduce the risk of negative effects on patients.
We are testing whether the effects of the drugs only mitigate dementia effects at early stages or if these drugs can aid in helping individuals who have more progressed disease. Additionally, we are looking at the effect of biological sex on the efficacy of these drugs, since it is known that women and men respond differently to various drugs as well as have different rates of dementia.
Who is working with you on this project?
My main collaborator on this project is Dr. Robert Speth in the College of Pharmacy, who serves as co-investigator on the grant. He has studied the cardiovascular systems and these classes of medications for over 40 years and has further explored various aspects of the renin-angiotensin system.
His graduate student, Natalie Noto, is furthering this work through her dissertation. I also have seven undergraduate students who are neuroscience or biology majors helping with this project.
How does this project connect with your other work at NSU?
This is my second project at NSU looking at dementia. The other research I am currently working on examines the effect of diet on changes in the brain that influence dementia risk. I have also studied the effect of diet, exercise, and socialization on dementia.
What advice do you have for other grant seekers at NSU?
There are so many fantastic resources at NSU! Get to know what other faculty here are working on and find ways to collaborate. Attend networking and training events related to research and grant funding at NSU, as well as the Undergraduate Student Symposium. Finally, seek out the resources NSU has available for research development such as Grant Lab Chats, and individuals to review your grant proposal and talk through research ideas (located in the Grant Lab and OSP).
What is the next grant proposal or project on your agenda?
I recently received a PFRDG grant that will enable my team—myself, Dr. Speth, and Dr. Benedict Albensi (Professor and Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences at NSU—to expand upon the work done for my American Heart Association grant. This will allow us to study an additional medication that targets the renin-angiotensin system to prevent/treat CAA.
Additionally, I just submitted a grant proposal in which I would investigate the contribution of traumatic brain injuries, such as those developed while playing sports, on development and progression of CAA.
What is your hope for the outcomes in this project and expanding on it in the future?
The hope for my current grant is that there will be beneficial results following treatment with the medications, supporting their use in patients with early and later stage dementia. At the very least, we are hoping the medication will reduce the risk of CAA from developing further.
In the future, we hope to expand on this research by studying the efficacy of these drugs to prevent/treat dementia in mice with common comorbidities, such as high fat diet-induced obesity and diabetes. Incorporating key risk factors and comorbidities when testing novel treatments is important for making our work as clinically-relevant as possible. Also, we hope to further research protective factors, such as exercise, on CAA progression in combination with medication.