The Alzheimer’s Association has awarded Dr. Arubala Reddy with a 2016 New Investigator Research Grant Award. Dr. Reddy is a Research Assistant Professor who works in the Internal Medicine Department at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center. Dr. Reddy was awarded $99,952 over two years for her research of protective effects of SSRI against Alzheimer’s Disease.
SSRI stands for Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They have been used in aging populations to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression and agitation. Dr. Reddy says the comorbidity between depression and impaired cognition doubles in frequency, in 5-year intervals after people in the general population reach 70 years of age.
“The long-term goal of our research is to develop therapeutic strategies to treat depression in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease,” Dr. Reddy said. “Alzheimer’s disease is a late-onset neurodegenerative disease, characterized by memory loss, depression, and multiple cognitive impairments.”
The Alzheimer’s Association New Investigator Research Grant Awards fund scientists who have earned their doctorates within the past 10 years. One of the goals of the program is to support early-career scientists who may have new and innovative approaches to Alzheimer’s disease research and whose work will lay the groundwork for future research grant applications to the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and other funding agencies and groups, including future proposals to the Alzheimer’s Association.
“We are so excited to have a local doctor here in Lubbock who is on the cutting edge of research,” Abby Read, Associate Area Director said. “We are proud of the reputation of the Alzheimer’s Association in distributing money to a researcher like Dr. Reddy who is dedicated to finding a cure for this horrible disease. This is just one way our organization enforces our commitment to our community and finding a cure.”
The Alzheimer’s Association is the largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research in the world, having awarded more than $355 million to over 2,300 projects since 1982. The Alzheimer’s Association awards as much research funding as possible each year and currently supports nearly 400 ongoing research projects in 20 countries totaling more than $85 million.
Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. It kills more Americans than diabetes and more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association 2015 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report. By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s may nearly triple, to as many as 13 million, barring the development of medical breakthroughs to prevent, slow or stop the disease.
For more information, visit the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.
About the Alzheimer’s Association
The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s research, care and support. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all affected, and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. For more information, visit alz.org or call 800-272-3900.
(News release from the About the Alzheimer’s Association)
