Results of the 2022 JPND Call for “Understanding the Mechanisms for Non-Pharmacological Interventions”

The fourteen projects were recommended for funding* by an independent, international Peer Review Panel based on scientific excellence with input from the JPND advisory board on patient and public involvement. Proposals are presented in alphabetical order according to their acronym.

*Please note this is a provisional decision. The final approval from national funding agencies is still ongoing. 

AD_Imprint
Unlock the early life pathological imprinting of Alzheimer’s disease via lifestyle

Coordinator:
Daniel Erny, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, Germany

Partners:
Ayça Arslan-Ergül, Bilkent University, Turkey
Ziad Al Nabhani, Bern University Hospital, Switzerland
Evgenia Salta, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Netherlands
Francesca Ronchi, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany

Autofus
Facilitating focused ultrasound-mediated Tau clearance in Alzheimer’s disease and other Tauopathies by understanding the underlying autophagic mechanisms

Coordinator:
Jürgen Götz, University of Queensland, Australia

Partners:
Esteban Cruz Gonzalez, University of Queensland, Australia
Christian Behl, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Daniel Razansky, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Ruiqing Ni, University of Zurich, Switzerland

DC4MND
Multidimensional mechanistic investigations of trans spinal direct current stimulation in motor neuron disease

Coordinator:
Marcin Baczyk, Poznan University of Physical Education, Poland

Partners:
Francesco Roselli, Ulm University, Germany
Daniel Zytnicki, Université de Paris – CNRS, France
Daniela Maria Rossi, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA SB – IRCCS, Italy
Sofia Rita Fernandes, FCiências.ID – Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências, Portugal
Baiba Vilne, Riga Stradins University, Latvia

EPI-3E
Defining (sex and age) cell-specific epigenetic mechanisms underlying Environmental Enrichment/Exercise as non-pharmacological intervention for Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease and related potential noninvasive biomarkers.

Coordinator:
Anne-Laurence Boutillier, University of Strasbourg, France

Partners:
André Fischer, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Germany
Angel Barco, Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Spain
Bartosz Wilczynski, University of Warsaw, Poland
Laura Harsan, University of Strasbourg, France
Rocio Perez-Gonzalez, Fundación Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de Alicante, Spain
Andras Dinnyes, BioTalentum Ltd, Hungary

EXERBRAIN
Crosstalk between exercise and brain lipid metabolism in the protection against Alzheimer’s Disease

Coordinator:
Rik van der Kant, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Netherlands

Partners:
Alexander Bartelt, Ludwig-Maxmilians-University Munich, Germany
Eider Arenaza-Urquijo, IIS Institut Hospital del Mar d’investigacions Mediques, Spain

Good Vibes
Augmenting glymphatic transport with monitored vibrations to prevent Alzheimer’s disease

Coordinator:
Vesa Kiviniemi, University of Oulu, Finland

Partners:
Gitte Moos Knudsen, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Denmark
Jurgen Claassen, Radboud University Medical Center, Netherlands
Róbert Bódizs, Semmelweis University, Hungary
Maiken Nedergaard, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

HiCALS
Hypothalamic mechanisms of High-Calorie intervention in ALS

Coordinator:
Francesco Roselli, Ulm University, Germany

Partners:
Luc Dupuis, University of Strasbourg, France
Liang Li, University of Alberta, Canada
Federica Agosta, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Italy
Baiba Vilne, Riga Stradins University, Latvia

Multi-MeMo
Shorter- and longer-term mechanisms of multimodal interventions to prevent dementia

Coordinator:
Alina Solomon, University of Eastern Finland, Finland

Partners:
Tobias Hartmann, Universitat Des Saarlandes, Germany
Wiesje van der Flier, Stichting VUMC, Netherlands
Rafael de la Torre Fornell, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Spain
Petr Novak, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia
Jean Georges, Alzheimer Europe, Luxembourg

NEURODIET
Molecular Mechanisms of Dietary Intervention on Neurodegeneration

Coordinator:
Thorsten Schmidt, Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen, Germany

Partners:
Luis Pereira de Almeida, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
Maciej Figiel, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
Cláudia Cavadas, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
Pinar Erkekoglu, Hacettepe University, Hacettepe University

REBALANCE
Efficient brain cleaning in Alzheimer’s disease with focused ultrasound coupled with enhanced mechanosensation

Coordinator:
Tarja Malm, University of Eastern Finland, Finland

Partners:
Meaghan O’Reilly, Universiy of Toronto, Canada
Michael Heneka, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Arn Maagdenberg, Academisch Ziekenhuis Leiden, Netherlands
Denis Vivien, INSERM / ANR, France
Mežinska Signe, University of Latvia, Latvia

RECAST
Rebalancing sleep-wake disturbances in Parkinson’s Disease with deep brain stimulation

Coordinator:
Alireza Gharabaghi, University of Tübingen, Germany

Partners:
Stephane Lehéricy, CENIR – Centre for NeuroImaging Research, France
Poul Jørgen Jennum, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Steffen Gais, University of Tübingen, Germany
Helge Bjarup Dissin Sørensen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Enrico Glaab, University of Luxembourg, Campus Esch/Belval, Luxembourg

StepuP
Taking steps against the burden of Parkinson’s Disease

Coordinator:
Jaap van Dieën, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands

Partners:
Walter Maetzler, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Jeffrey Hausdorff, Foundation for Medical Research Infrastructural Development and Health Services, Israel
Matthew Brodie, University of New South Wales, Australia
Navrag Singh, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Switzerland
Fabio Laporta, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Italy

TREMENDOS
The role of microglia in the effects of environmental enrichment in neurodegenerative disorders

Coordinator:
Ali Jawaid, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Poland

Partners:
Bozena Kaminska, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Poland
Rosa Paolicelli, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Anthony Hannan, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Australia
Bradley Turner, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Australia

UNITE-PD
Unraveling the neural mechanisms underlying compensation strategies for gait impairments in Parkinson’s disease: a transnational, multimodal approach

Coordinator:
Jorik Nonnekes, Stichting Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum, Netherlands

Partners:
Gilat Moran, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Maidan Inbal, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (TLVMC), Israel
Laura Avanzino, IRCSS – Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Italy