HudsonAlpha scientist awarded $200K grant to study Alzheimer’s

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - A scientist in Huntsville is working to study a gene linked to Alzheimer’s disease, thanks to a $200,000 grant.

Nick Cochran was awarded the funding through the BrightFocus Foundation to study the MAPT gene with the ultimate hope of learning what triggers it.

MAPT is the instruction set for a protein called tau. Tau accumulation in the brain is linked to Alzheimer’s.

Cochran hopes this study can potentially help people with neurodegenerative disorders.

“We’re thinking about this from the very source. so rather than waiting until it’s aggregated into these big clumps that probably have already caused a lot of problems in the cells, can we move toward ideas where you’re targeting things at the beginning,” said Cochran

Cochran hopes to isolate DNA close to the MAPT gene and test them to determine the impact on tau.

He is a senior scientist in the Rick Myers lab at HudsonAlpha.

Copyright 2019 WAFF. All rights reserved.