Research into Alzheimer’s treatment entered a new phase Tuesday.
A $53.4 million grant will be used to help find ways to better care for people living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias, officials announced Tuesday.
The grant was awarded to Brown University and Hebrew SeniorLife by the National Institute on Aging. The institutions will use the funding to develop a research incubator that will focus on evaluating interventions for the disease. It is formally called the NIA Imbedded Pragmatic AD/ADRD Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Collaboratory.
The incubator’s first objective will be to fund and provide expert assistance for up to 40 pilot trials that will test non-drug, care-based interventions for people living with dementia. Its second objective will be to develop best practices for implementing and evaluating interventions for Alzheimer’s and dementia care.
Experts from more than 30 research institutions will be a part of the research incubator. Vincent Mor, Ph.D., a long-term care expert and professor at Brown’s School of Public Health, will co-lead the project.
“This grant will revolutionize the national infrastructure for research into how care is delivered to people living with dementia and their caregivers,” Mor said. “The key is figuring out how to take an idea that worked in an ideal situation and adapt it so it can be piloted in the messy real-world system of care providers that exists across the U.S.”
