FNIH and Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative Announce Grand Prize Winner of 2013 Geoffrey Beene Global Neurodiscovery Challenge

Enrico Glaab, Ph.D. to Receive $50,000 Prize to Continue Research of Male/Female Differences in Alzheimer’s Disease

BETHESDA, MD, November 7, 2013 — The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, in association with the Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative, today announced Enrico Glaab, Ph.D., research associate at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, as the grand-prize winner of the first-ever challenge to identify male/female differences in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Dr. Glaab will receive $50,000 in awards from the Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative to continue his research.

The results of the voting were so close, that one of the Challenge’s sponsors, Sanofi, stepped forward and offered an additional $50,000 to fund the second-place winners, Kimberly Glass, Ph.D. and John Quackenbush, Ph.D., Harvard School of Public Health, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

“Because one finalist was a female, Dr. Kimberly Glass, we felt it was important to encourage more women to go into STEM careers,” said Anne Whitaker, President North American Pharmaceutical, CEO Sanofi US, and founding member of Women Against Alzheimer’s.

The winners were selected from a pool of three finalists through online voting open to the public from November 1-5, and a live vote today at the Alzheimer’s Disease Summit: The Path to 2025, presented by The New York Academy of Sciences, the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease, and the National Institute on Aging/NIH.

Enrico Glaab, Ph.D., will continue his study of age-related gender differences in brain expression levels of tau-interacting ubiquitin-specific peptidase 9 and possible implications for Alzheimer’s disease.

Second-place winners Kimberly Glass, Ph.D. and John Quackenbush, Ph.D., will continue their study of sex-specific differences in Alzheimer’s disease characterized by unique alterations in cellular network structure.

The 2013 Geoffrey Beene Global NeuroDiscovery Challenge invited researchers to leverage large sets of clinical data and novel analytical approaches to elucidate the causes and consequences of male/female (biologic sex) differences in the destructive physical changes and atrophy in the brain, how those changes translate into progression of physical symptoms and the influence of genetics and hormones on the development of AD in both men and women.

“We are delighted with the worldwide response and interest to the challenge and congratulate Dr. Glaab, Dr. Glass, and Dr. Quackenbush’s accomplishments,” said Maria Freire, Ph.D., President and Executive Director, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, which manages the partnership for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a significant study of the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease that is one of the great success stories of National Institute on Aging/NIH and private-sector funding.

“What better way to mobilize women than ask a question that matters to them?” said Meryl Comer, President and CEO of the Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative and founding partner of the 21st Century BrainTrust(TM). “The 2013 Geoffrey Beene Global NeuroDiscovery Challenge supports and validates this research focus for our next generation scientists that benefits both women and men.”

Featured speakers at the November 7, 2013 Alzheimer’s Disease Summit included Maria Freire, President and Executive Director, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Freda Lewis Hall, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Pfizer, Anne Whitaker, President North American Pharmaceutical, CEO Sanofi US, Reisa Sperling, MD, Professor of Neurology, Director, Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Meryl Comer, President of Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative.

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About the Foundation for NIH
Established by the United States Congress to support the mission of the NIH—improving health through scientific discovery in the search for cures—the Foundation for the NIH is a leader in identifying and addressing complex scientific and health issues. The foundation is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization that raises private-sector funds for a broad portfolio of unique programs that complement and enhance NIH priorities and activities. For additional information about the Foundation for the NIH, please visit www.fnih.org.

About Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative
The Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative—launched in November 2007 and funded solely by Geoffrey Beene, LLC and the Geoffrey Beene Foundation—has made contributions in excess of $4.7 million to support next generation research in early diagnostics and groundbreaking awareness programs to expose the impact of the Alzheimer’s epidemic on individuals, families and our health care system. Contributions include catalyst funding for the National Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry; the award-winning Rock Stars of Science™ campaign; marquis sponsorship of HBO’s “The Alzheimer’s Project” documentary series; co-sponsorship of the Alzheimer’s Challenge 2012; and co-founder of the 21st Century BrainTrust™.

About the 2013 Geoffrey Beene Global NeuroDiscovery Challenge
The 2013 Geoffrey Beene Global NeuroDiscovery Challenge was launched in association with: Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), Institute of Medicine (IOM), Women Against Alzheimer’s Network (WA2), 21st Century BrainTrust™ (21 CBT), BrightFocus Foundation, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, Mass Bio (600 Biotech Companies), Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR). The National Institute on Aging/NIH provided technical support.

The 2013 Geoffrey Beene Global NeuroDiscovery Challenge Judging Panel:

• Marietta Anthony, PhD, Consultant in Women’s Health Research
• Janine Clayton, MD, Director of Women’s Health, NIH (ex-officio capacity)
• Howard Fillit, MD, founding executive director and chief science officer, Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
• Florence Haseltine, MD, PhD, IT consultant, founder, Society for Women’s Health Research
• Lenore Launer, PhD, Chief of the Neuroepidemiology Section, NIA
• Freda Lewis-Hall, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Pfizer
• Michelle Mielke, PhD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Mayo Clinic
• Peter Rabins, MD, MPH, Professor, Department of Psychiatry and director of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Alan Russell, PhD, founding director of the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Carnegie Mellon University

 

Among the countries submitting entries:
United States, India, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Italy, Poland, Singapore, Israel, Spain, Switzerland, France, Pakistan, Portugal, Brazil, China, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Australia, Belgium, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Jordan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Serbia, South Africa, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Egypt, Estonia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Macedonia (The Former Yugoslav Republic Of), Madagascar, Moldova (Republic Of), Morocco, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Slovakia, Slovenia, Taiwan , Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Uzbekistan.

21st Century BrainTrust™ Founding Partners:
Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative, USAgainstAlzheimers(USA2), BrightFocus Foundation, Scientific Partner: Cleveland Clinic/Lou Ruvo Brain Institute.