23 Feb 2007

Congratulations are in order for this year’s winners of the MetLife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer’s Disease. David Holtzman, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, and Berislav Zlokovic, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York will each receive a $50,000 personal award and a $200,000 research award for their respective institutions.

Holtzman is a regular contributor to Alzforum and former member of our Scientific Advisory Board. He was honored for his pioneering work on the molecular biology of early Alzheimer’s and for his studies on the formation and clearance of Aβ in the central nervous system. His laboratory has been instrumental in teasing out the relationship between ApoE, a major AD risk factor, and Aβ turnover.

Zlokovic was honored for his studies on the role of the vasculature in Alzheimer disease. His work has been covered extensively on Alzforum, most recently in January this year when his lab reported that hypercontractility of blood vessels and subsequent dysregulation of blood flow may be contribute to Alzheimer’s pathology (see ARF related news story).

The awards were announced at a special luncheon today in Washington, DC.—Tom Fagan.