Assistant Professor Shih-Hsiu “Jerry” Wang, MD, PhD, has been awarded an Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant (AARG) for his proposal titled “Elucidating the Role of Vascular Dysfunction in LATE, LATE-AD, and FTLD-TDP.” His previous research has identified a strong association between brain arteriolosclerosis and limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE), a neurodegenerative brain pathology characterized by aberrant TDP-43 protein accumulations (TDP-43 proteinopathies) predominantly in the amygdala and hippocampus.
His proposal outlines how he plans to extend his analysis on the role of vascular dysfunction in LATE with comorbid Alzheimer’s disease and another TDP-43 proteinopathy, frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 lesions (FTLD-TDP). The $200,000 grant will be disbursed over the next three years to support his work using single-nuclei and spatial transcriptomic profiling to gain molecular understanding of these neurodegenerative pathologies.
The AARG supports early-career investigators who are less than 18 years past their doctoral degree or post-residency (MD or DO). It provides funding for developing preliminary data, testing procedures, and formulating hypotheses and lays the groundwork for future research grant applications to federal or other funding entities.
Wang was also recognized for his Alzheimer’s Disease research In October 2023, when he received an NC Biotechnology Center Grant for Collaborative Project on Alzheimer’s Disease.