Collaborative funding awarded for dementia research

Two academics from the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health have received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) 2022 Collaborative Dementia Research Scheme.

The University of Melbourne is the administrating institution for two of the three projects funded by the Scheme, which focuses on early career researchers.

As Chief Investigators, Dr Yijun Pan and Dr Chien-Hsiung (Alan) Yu will each receive close to $500,000 to undertake research with Japanese collaborators into causes of dementia and factors that may prevent or delay onset.

Dr Yijun Pan will work with collaborators from Tohoku University and the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology in Japan to focus on accurate diagnosis, potential therapeutic targets and modifiable risk factors for patients living with vascular or frontotemporal dementia, with the goal to improve quality of life of people living with dementia.

Dr Chien-Hsiung (Alan) Yu will work with collaborators from the University of Tokyo and Niigata University to investigate how tau protein build-up triggers neuron death in the brain and develop therapies for preventing this damaging protein cascade.

To find out more about the Scheme, visit the website.