IU School of Medicine professor Jason Meyer, seen here with assistant research professor Cátia Gomes, is co-leading a new IU center focused on modeling the human brain to improve scientific understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, which could lead to better treatment options for the more than 7 million Americans living with the devastating disease. Photos by Tim Yates, IU School of Medicine.

News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University has received a $16.5 million federal grant to establish one of only two U.S. centers focused on using stem cell-derived brain models to advance research on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

The five-year grant from the National Institute on Aging will support the launch of the Microphysiological Systems to Advance Precision Medicine for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, or MAP-AD, the university announced.

“This center speaks to exciting areas of scientific investigation in the research community that is developing microphysiological systems to better understand human disease,” said Jason Meyer, the A. Donald Merritt Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics at the IU School of Medicine. “MAP-AD is a testament to the team and infrastructure that have been built up at the IU School of Medicine to support Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegeneration research.”

Led by faculty from the IU School of Medicine and the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, the new center aims to develop three-dimensional brain organoids — miniature brain-like structures grown from human stem cells — to better study the mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Kiersten Peña, an IU School of Medicine medical neuroscience graduate student, works in Jason Meyer’s lab, which develops stem-cell-based models of neurodegenerative disorders, like Alzheimer’s disease. Photo by Tim Yates, IU School of Medicine.

The organoids are intended to provide a more accurate representation of the human brain than traditional animal models, which have often failed to translate promising treatments into effective clinical therapies.

IU researchers will collaborate with the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute as part of the initiative to accelerate drug discovery and development. The interdisciplinary team includes experts in genetics, neurology, biostatistics, anatomy, and intelligent systems engineering.

A key area of focus will be further investigation into a gene mutation linked to Alzheimer’s, discovered by IU researchers in 2023. That work will take place in the university’s new $230 million medical education and research facility in downtown Indianapolis.

The MAP-AD center adds to IU’s expanding Alzheimer’s research program at a time when the disease is projected to affect nearly 13 million Americans by 2050. Officials said the new center will help the university translate its laboratory findings into clinical advancements.

The only other center receiving similar federal funding is Brigham and Women’s Hospital, affiliated with Harvard Medical School.