Announcements

The Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer'ss Initiative has announced its second online innovation challenge whose goal is to identify male and female differences in the pathogenesis and presentation of Alzheimer's disease in the pre-symptomatic, early symptomatic and late stages of the disease. The Challenge will require a written proposal and winning submissions will share $100,00 in prize awards.

More information is attached, and may also be found at http://geoffreybeenechallenge.org/challenge/

The AFTD has issued a Request for Proposals for pilot grants that are designed to seed original projects, with the goal of generating preliminary data towards a larger grant application on basic/clinical research in frontotemporal degeneration and related conditions.

Applications are due on July 1, 2013.

More information may be found at www.theaftd.org/research/aftd-research-initiatives/current-rfps, or on the attached document.

The Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Cener, and the MGH Neurological Clinical Research Institute have joined forces to fund the best novel ideas for pilot projects aimed at uncovering and developing effective treatments for neurodegenetive diseases.

Applications are due on Thursday, December 6, 2012.

The Call for Applications is attached.

Boston is a mecca of medicine, home to some of the most prestigious hospitals and medical schools, physicians and medical scientists in the world. Since the momentous day in 1846 when William Morton, a local dentist, for the first time publicly demonstrated the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic in Masachusetts General Hospital's now-famous Ether Dome, the city has seen many medical firsts, including the first fertilization of an ovum in a test tube and the first successful human-organ transplant. Today, it ranks as a preeminent center for healthcare and research.

Massachusetts General Hospital moved into the No. 1 spot on the 2012-13 U.S. News & World Report rankings of best hospitals in America last week, the first time in the 23-year history of the survey that the institution has received the distinction. Nine of Harvard Medical School's 16 affiliates were recognized for excellence in this year's U.S. News surveys, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Joslin Diabetes Center, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Mass General, McLean Hospital and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

The Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center (www.neurodiscovery.harvard.edu) is pleased to announce the 3rd year of a major funding opportunity for collaborative basic neuroscience research across the Harvard and MIT communities. Up to 5 $200,000 grants ($100,000 per year for 2 years) may be awarded each year.

The deadline for this year's application is September 1, 2012.

Please refer to the attached documents for more specific details.

The Massachusetts ADRC, Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center and the MGH Neurology Clinical Trials Unit have joined forces to fund the best novel ideas for pilot projects aimed at understanding and developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. Together, we are pleased to announce a joint call for pilot study applications from investigators within the Harvard community, including the affiliated hospitals and institutions. In addition, investigators from the University of Massachusetts community are encouraged to submit ALS-related purposals.

The Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center (www.neurodiscovery.harvard.edu) is pleased to announce the 2nd year of a major funding opportunity for collaborative basic neuroscience research across the Harvard and MIT communities. Up to 5 $200,000 grants ($100,000 per year for 2 years) may be awarded each year.

The deadline for this year's application is September 1, 2011.

Please refer to the attached documents for more specific details.

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) invite scientists from academia and the biotechnology industry worldwide to apply for research grants to develop Frontotemporal Dementia-specified biomarkers that reflect pathological and clinical differences so that appropriate patients can be selected for clinical trials and responses to investigational treatments can be monitored.

The Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) has an opening for a two-year Clinical Research Fellowship in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham & Women's Hosptial (BWH) beginning July 1, 2012.