A transformational gift from the Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation has established The Carol and Gene Ludwig Center for Research on Neurodegeneration at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S). The Center will support research to better understand the underlying biological and genetic mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders and to discover innovative and more effective, targeted treatments for these diseases.

The gift will help create state-of-the-art laboratories for the Center and Ludwig Investigators in a new precision medicine research building at VP&S. A cornerstone of the Center will be pilot awards designed to advance and accelerate innovative new research projects, with seed funding for especially promising areas of investigation. The gift also will help Columbia recruit and retain top scientists working on neurodegeneration and will fund an annual symposium for the exchange and stimulation of ideas and results among the most prominent researchers in the field.

The Foundation provided a grant to Harvard Medical School (HMS) to establish the Ludwig Neurodegenerative Disease Seed Grants Program to advance early-stage research toward treatment approaches. The Program was born of the many challenges that scientists have encountered in developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer’s disease. The program strives to identify projects grounded in basic biology that have solid potential for translational impact.

In this 4-year program, 2-3 grant recipients will be selected each year through competitive review process. The goal of this program is to leverage the in-depth basic neuroscience expertise at Harvard to investigate and validate novel mechanisms that could be key underlying drivers of neurodegeneration and in particular, Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to advancing research on neurodegenerative diseases, the program also aims to create a stronger research community around neurodegeneration at HMS. Awardees will share their findings at symposia, journal clubs, and other gatherings open to the broader HMS community.

The overall goal of Dr. Yankner’s research is to achieve a greater understanding of the molecular basis of brain aging and how normal aging transitions to pathological aging, giving rise to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

“Continued support from the Ludwig Family Foundation has led to novel therapeutic approaches that are focused on the preservation of cognitive function during aging. This multi-disciplinary effort would be difficult to sustain through traditional grant funding mechanisms.  As such, the Ludwig Family Foundation plays an important role in pushing the boundaries of neurodegenerative disease research at Harvard.”

The King laboratory is interested in the fundamental mechanisms that control nuclear mechanics, dynamics, and quality control. Major efforts in the lab include: Developing a quantitative model for the mechanical response of the nucleus, investigating how nuclear compartments and local chromatin state influence genome integrity mechanisms, defining how the genome is organized over time in single cells, and defining contexts in which direct mechanotransduction of force through the LINC complex regulates cell function and homeostasis.

The mission of the Ramirez lab is twofold: to reveal the neural circuit mechanisms of memory storage and retrieval, and to artificially modulate memories to combat maladaptive states. The lab will do so in a multi-disciplinary fashion by combining virus engineering strategies, immunohistochemistry and physiology, optogenetics and functional imaging of targeted populations in vivo, and a battery of behavioral assays.

“Funding from the LFF has helped us embark on the kinds of high-risk high-reward projects in the lab that otherwise would have been impossible! The LFF has directly contributed to the growth and development of several lab members, including graduate students and post-docs, all who have made exceptional progress in delineating the neural mechanisms of learning and memory, as well as restoring health back to the diseased brain.”

Dr. Xiao’s laboratory focuses on epigenetic regulation in pluripotent stem cells, including embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). His laboratory has made significant contributions to the understanding of the maintenance of pluripotency, as well as the recent discovery of novel epigenetic mechanisms, i.e., N6-methyl-adenine, in mammalian genomes.

“We greatly appreciate the support from the Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation for Carol’s extraordinary vision and perspective in science.  Their support is essential for the success of my lab and instrumental for our endeavor to discover hidden components in the human genome.”

Dr. Ho’s laboratory has been engaged in HIV research since the beginning of the AIDS pandemic, initially focusing on clinical virology and select topics in HIV pathogenesis. In 2020, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the laboratory has begun investigating potential treatments and vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection.

The goal of Dr. De Jager's work as a clinician-scientist is to apply modern methods of neuroimmunology, statistical genetics, and systems biology to the understanding of common neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis. He is working to harness the immune system to ensure healthy brain aging. Thanks to the Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation, he is developing tools with which to map the trajectory of immune aging in each individual; this will yield a personalized approach to assessing the state of each individual’s immune system and the likelihood of continued brain health with advancing age.