Kaptur: Two-Year $445,500 Federal Award for Alzheimer’s Research at UT

WASHINGTON, DC– Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) joined the National Institute of Aging, a research institute within the National Institutes of Health, to announce the two-year award of $445,000 in federal research funds to The University of Toledo’s Department of Neurosciences research laboratory for the purpose of new Alzheimer’s research entitled, “A BBB-permeable neurotrophic polysaccharide, midi-GAGR.”
The research project is managed by Joshua Jin-Hyouk Park, PhD, UT professor of neuroscience.

“This is the second NIH grant this year for Dr. Park, which is noteworthy given the competition involved for NIH research grants,” said Congresswoman Kaptur. “It’s an exciting time to be involved in neuroscience research, and it’s a tribute to The University of Toledo and to Dr. Park’s laboratory, specifically.”

“Over 5 million people in the Unites States and 35 million worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Current treatments only address symptoms without disease-modifying effect and have side effects,” Park said. “In animal testing, we discovered a neuroprotrophic polysaccharide named midi-GAGR reverses damage to the cell network and reduces the level of proteins generate the neurofibrillary tangles, which allows the brain to begin repairing the building blocks and signalers, improving memory and cognition.”

Kaptur is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, which has funding responsibilities and oversight over the National Institute of Aging.

Background:

For background on Dr. Joshua Park: https://www.utoledo.edu/med/depts/neurosciences/josh.html

For background on the NIA grant announcement: https://hhsgrants.econsys.com/apex/f?p=103:210:0::NO:210:P210_GRANT_ID:166358

For background on The University of Toledo: https://utoledo.edu

For background on Alzheimer’s: https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/alzheimers-disease-fact-sheet

###