Monthly Archives: יולי 2018

From today, funders and researchers can access a database containing survey information spanning three decades-worth of global neurodegenerative disease research funding.

The new, expanded online database is the result of a large-scale mapping exercise of neurodegenerative disease research investments and infrastructure across Europe, Australia and Canada – all member countries of the EU Joint Programme for Neurodegenerative Diseases (JPND). It follows a smaller-scale survey completed in 2011.

Providing a snapshot of public and not-for-profit investment in the area, the new data captured in 2016 covers research funding and resources recorded as active on 1 January 2016.

Together with the existing 2011 data, the investments span a 28-year period, from 2002 to 2030. Combined with projects from the first exercise, the database now indexes more than 3,100 projects and resources.

Analysis of the data, published in an accompanying report, reveals that annual neurodegenerative research spending has increased by 34% across JPND since 2011, from €370 million up to €494 million.

The aim of this expanded, interactive resource is to share funding information, promote new collaborations and inform strategy, ultimately supporting scientific progress in the neurodegenerative disease area.

The latest 2016 mapping exercise captures 2,672 projects, ranging from large multinational research programmes to small investments and fellowship awards. It covers seven new JPND members and data from partners in 27 different countries, including JPND transnational awards for the first time.

Visitors can use the database to explore what type of research has been funded and look at profiles of past and current investments by multiple funders or within specific countries. Research organisations may find it useful to draw on the information as a basis for coordinating funding strategies and preventing duplication.

To increase the global reach of the data, it will also be displayed in the International Alzheimer's and Related Dementias Research Portfolio (IADRP) database. This follows a new partnership between JPND, the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Alzheimer's Association (AA). Reciprocally, relevant research from the NIH will be accessible via the JPND database later this year.

About the EU Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND)

JPND brings together 30 countries to accelerate discovery by aligning research priorities, approaches and programmes. This has resulted in the creation of the largest global collaboration in the field and represents an innovative approach to finding causes, developing cures and identifying appropriate ways to care for people living with neurodegenerative diseases. To learn more about JPND, visit www.jpnd.eu.

Two major research funding entities in the EU and US are joining forces for the first time to optimise and harmonise research into neurodegenerative diseases. The EU Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) and the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today the creation of a new cross-initiative action to link and support collaborations between researchers working in the field.

NIH and JPND ran separate calls for proposals in 2017 to investigate common mechanisms and pathways in neurodegenerative diseases. With this joint action, researchers supported under the JPND call are invited to team up with researchers supported under the NIH call, and vice versa, to propose joint activities such as common workshops, data exchanges and pilot experiments. These activities will add value to the science being undertaken in ongoing projects by accelerating knowledge transfer between research groups.

"Collaboration is the key to progressing our understanding of the biological underpinnings of neurodegenerative disease," said JPND Chair Professor Philippe Amouyel. "These awards will offer NIH and JPND researchers the opportunity to more systematically and efficiently connect and share knowledge, tools and data. They will enhance current investigations into the fundamental mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases while also planting the seeds of future collaboration."

“This is a crucial time of expanding global interest and support for neurodegenerative disease research,” said Dr. Eliezer Masliah, director of the NIA’s Division of Neuroscience. “In our connected age, breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, Lewy body disease, frontotemporal dementia and other neurological disorders require teamwork, and we look forward to strengthening the scientific connections between talented researchers across the EU and the US.”

Four research projects were supported under NIH's call, “PAS17-028 Common Mechanisms and Interactions Among Neurodegenerative Diseases (R01)”. JPND's call for “Multinational research projects for Pathway Analysis across Neurodegenerative Diseases” resulted in the support of ten research consortia, covering a range of diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

About the EU Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND): JPND brings together 30 countries to accelerate discovery by aligning research priorities, approaches and programmes. This has resulted in the creation of the largest global collaboration in the field and represents an innovative approach to finding causes, developing cures and identifying appropriate ways to care for people living with neurodegenerative diseases. To learn more about JPND, visit www.jpnd.eu.

About the National Institute on Aging: The NIA leads the federal government effort conducting and supporting research on aging and the health and well-being of older people. The NIA is designated as the lead NIH institute for information on Alzheimer's disease. It provides information on age-related cognitive change and neurodegenerative disease, including participation in clinical studies, specifically on its Alzheimer's website.