2025 New Investigator Award Winners
The National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC), in collaboration with the Alzheimer's Association®, congratulates the winners of the 2025 New Investigator Awards, each of whom will receive $135,000 in direct costs to support their research. The awards help early-career scientists conducting innovative research at the National Institute on Aging-funded Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) across the United States.
This year's highly competitive process drew 138 eligible proposals from early-career investigators at 34 of the 36 ADRCs. Through a partnership with the ADRC Programs' Research Education Component, applicants had the opportunity to participate in a mentorship program, with 82% of applicants requesting and being matched with mentors. The program's effectiveness was clear, with 93% of mentees expressing confidence they could apply this guidance to future grant applications, demonstrating lasting career development benefits. The winning researchers' projects address a broad range of important questions in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, spanning early diagnosis and disease progression monitoring, molecular disease mechanisms, and the effects of stress and socioeconomic factors on dementia risk.
The 2025 winners are:
Joshua Cahan, MD
Northwestern ADRC
SAMBA: Study of Anti-amyloid Monoclonal Antibody Biospecimens and ARIA
Joshua Cahan, MD, from Northwestern University ADRC, studies immune system changes related to amyloid-targeting treatments for Alzheimer's disease. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved anti-amyloid medications, but these can sometimes cause amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) on brain scans. Dr. Cahan's SAMBA study aims to uncover immune changes in patients with these imaging abnormalities and explore their possible relationship to cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a condition where amyloid protein damages blood vessels in the brain. Using advanced techniques to study gene activity, his team will examine immune cells in brain tissue and body fluids from patients receiving anti-amyloid therapy and compare them to individuals with cerebral amyloid angiopathy. The goal is to better understand how the immune system responds to these treatments and imaging changes.
Quinton Cotton, PhD
University of Pittsburgh ADRC
Advancing Intergenerational Networks for Dementia Care in Black Communities
Quinton Cotton, PhD, at the University of Pittsburgh ADRC, is examining how social connections affect Alzheimer's disease risk. Researchers have found that meaningful social connections, or a sense of belonging and support, improve well-being and quality of life, and may also protect against memory loss and Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Cotton will examine how Black youth, adults, and older adults form and strengthen intergenerational bonds. The goal is to create a culturally grounded program to strengthen social ties, reduce isolation, and lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in Black communities.
Hilaree Frazier, PhD
University of Kentucky ADRC
Role of p38 MAPK in Mediating AD-Associated Myelin and Synaptic Changes
Hilaree Frazier, PhD, at the University of Kentucky ADRC, is studying the early loss of myelin from nerve cells in the brain in Alzheimer's disease. Myelin forms an insulating sheath around neurons, functioning much like insulation on electrical wires. Loss of myelin is one of the first changes to occur in the Alzheimer's disease brain, and this subsequently worsens memory decline and disease progression. Using Alzheimer's disease model mice, Dr. Frazier will test whether suppressing brain inflammation can reduce myelin deterioration and slow disease progression. Dr. Frazier's team will also use clinical samples to study myelin loss across different disease stages.
Valentina Garbarino, PhD
South Texas ADRC
Transcriptomic Signature for Chronic Stress Contribution to ADRD Risk
Valentina Garbarino, PhD, of the South Texas ADRC, is studying how chronic stress contributes to Alzheimer's disease risk. Experiencing chronic stress appears to potentially double the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, but doctors lack reliable tools to measure psychological stress, limiting their ability to effectively assess stress-driven Alzheimer's disease risk and potentially intervene. Dr. Garbarino will test whether a blood test that measures how stress changes gene activity could be useful for identifying chronic stress. This blood test, called the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity, could provide a simple and accurate way to measure stress levels that might signal a higher risk of brain diseases like Alzheimer's. If this test proves practical and reliable for clinical use, it could enable doctors to identify stress in patients early enough to implement lifestyle changes that could reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
Marios Georgiadis, PhD
Stanford ADRC
Linking Myelin Pathology to Lipid Dysregulation and Disease Hallmarks in AD
Marios Georgiadis, PhD, from the Stanford ADRC, also studies myelin loss in Alzheimer's disease, particularly its connection to the widespread lipid regulation that accompanies the disease – a phenomenon first noted by Alois Alzheimer himself. Myelin, the lipid-rich structure that wraps around nerve fibers, has recently emerged as an important part of Alzheimer's disease that may be linked to the disease's main features. Dr. Georgiadis will use the latest tools to measure both myelin breakdown and lipid regulation problems in the hippocampus, a brain structure critical for memory, from deceased Alzheimer's patients. The project will link these changes to Alzheimer's disease protein abnormalities, including tau and amyloid plaque buildup. This work will test theories about how myelin contributes to Alzheimer's disease development and potentially provide new targets for diagnosis and treatment.
Chad Murchison, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham ADRC
Areal and Individual Influences of SDOH and Disparity on ADRD and Cognition
Chad Murchison, PhD, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham ADRC, is examining how social and economic factors influence Alzheimer's disease and related dementia outcomes. While these conditions involve changes at the brain cell level, many factors that contribute to the disease operate at much larger scales in communities and society. People with lower social and economic status and those experiencing systematic inequalities have a higher risk of developing these diseases. Previous research has used neighborhood-level measures of disparity, but these are built using different components and represent distinct aspects of inequality. Dr. Murchison plans to use advanced statistical and machine learning methods to better understand how different types of community disadvantages influence Alzheimer's disease progression across different geographic areas.
Monica Santisteban, PhD
Vanderbilt ADRC
Unveiling the Impact of Increased Cerebrospinal Fluid Renin in ADRD
Monica Santisteban, PhD, from the Vanderbilt ADRC, is examining high blood pressure, an important risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. While high blood pressure increases Alzheimer's risk, researchers don't understand how this happens. Dr. Santisteban will study how the renin angiotensin system, an important molecular pathway involved in high blood pressure, contributes to Alzheimer's disease. Using a combination of human tissue samples and mouse models, she will determine how renin activity in the brain's spinal fluid affects memory decline and signs of Alzheimer's disease. Understanding this connection between high blood pressure and Alzheimer's disease could lead to better diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.
Nicole Scott-Hewitt, PhD
Duke/UNC ADRC
Investigating RNA-Dependent Neuroimmune Interactions in Alzheimer's Disease
Nicole Scott-Hewitt, PhD, at the Duke/UNC ADRC, investigates how brain cells and immune cells communicate in the brain, which mounting evidence shows plays a role in Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Scott-Hewitt aims to investigate how early protein changes in Alzheimer's disease impact RNA-dependent communication between brain cells and immune cells inside neurons, and whether these contribute to cell dysfunction and memory decline. Understanding how these converging pathways underlie Alzheimer's disease brain damage could prove critical in interpreting patient outcomes and drug effectiveness and eventually aid in the development of new therapies targeting these interactions.
Matthew Welhaf, PhD
Washington University ADRC
Pinpointing Cognitive Change in Preclinical AD Using Computational Models
Matthew Welhaf, PhD, from the Washington University ADRC, is addressing the challenge of tracking cognitive changes in people who may develop Alzheimer's disease but don't yet show symptoms. In this early stage, cognitive changes are often subtle, but newer, more flexible statistical approaches can better detect these changes before symptoms appear. Dr. Welhaf is combining the comprehensive NACC dataset with these newer techniques to help stage cognitive decline in people at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. This approach could improve early detection and is critical for monitoring participants' progress in clinical trials.
Tingxiang Yan, PhD
Mayo Clinic ADRC
Defining the Role of UFMylation in Tau Secretion in Alzheimer's Disease
Tingxiang Yan, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic ADRC, is investigating toxic tau proteins that accumulate and spread between brain cells in Alzheimer's disease, contributing to memory loss and cognitive decline. Dr. Yan's project investigates how an understudied protein system called UFM1 may trigger and accelerate this process by modifying tau protein. Understanding how UFM1 contributes to tau-related damage could reveal new drug targets to slow or prevent disease progression.
Looking Ahead
These ten awards showcase the breadth of current Alzheimer's research, spanning early detection and molecular mechanisms to social and environmental factors. The projects reflect a field that increasingly recognizes Alzheimer's disease and related dementias as complex conditions influenced by biological, environmental, and social factors. By supporting early-career investigators pursuing diverse research approaches, the New Investigator Award Program helps ensure that the next generation of researchers will have the tools and support needed to tackle this challenging disease from multiple perspectives.