UNLV and the (GAP) are joining forces to accelerate the development of new biomarker and diagnostic tests for Alzheimer’s and other central nervous system (CNS) diseases and to expand access to related clinical trials.
The collaboration was created out of a shared commitment to bolster research on CNS diseases – and the workforce to support it – and to conduct fast and effective clinical trials that include participants from throughout Southern Nevada’s richly diverse communities.
Clinical trials are the only approved means of advancing new treatments for disease. With no cures and very few therapies for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other CNS diseases, the need for increased clinical trials for people from all backgrounds is paramount to developing treatments.
“With nearly 7 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s today, new treatments can’t come soon enough,” said UNLV President Keith E. Whitfield. “This important collaboration with the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation will give more Southern Nevadans access to clinical trials, enable researchers to boost the quantity and quality of trials, and offer students unique real-world experiences. It also further cements Southern Nevada’s growing reputation as a global hub for brain health research and innovation.”
While the collaboration has global implications for people grappling with neurodegenerative diseases, program leaders champion its potential benefits for the Silver State. According to Dr. Jeffrey Cummings, a research professor in the Department of Brain Health and director of the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience in UNLV’s School of Integrated Health Sciences, there are approximately 43,000 Nevadans living with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
The UNLV/GAP alliance intends to offer best-in-class brain health programs and scientific research opportunities, bolstering resources for Southern Nevadans who are at risk for neurodegenerative diseases. The alliance hopes this collaboration is the first of many, including the possibility of recruiting more Alzheimer’s-focused researchers to the Las Vegas Valley, and generating more funding opportunities for Alzheimer’s research.
The collaboration is expected to include resources from UNLV’s Pam Quirk Brain Health Biomarker Laboratory to support clinical practice and clinical trials. UNLV brain health researchers will also have expanded access to GAP’s large biomarker datasets, including from the Bio-Hermes trial that enrolled more than 1,000 participants, nearly a quarter of which came from traditionally underrepresented communities.
UNLV’s students will also have the opportunity to learn key aspects of brain science and innovation through the integration of expanded brain health and clinical research into the curriculum of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. An annual conference on the science and industrial use of biomarker technologies for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries is expected to arise out of the collaboration.
“We are honored to work with UNLV, which is well known as a disruptive problem solver,” said John Dwyer, president of the Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation. “UNLV’s team of nationally renowned neurological researchers, combined with a growing medical school, are a perfect complement to our strategy for creating a state-of-the-art research center capable of developing novel solutions for the nearly intractable challenges CNS research presents.”
GAP is a nonprofit founded to speed the delivery of Alzheimer’s treatments with a commitment to promoting diversity in clinical research, as well as lowering the cost and duration of clinical trials to ensure that therapies and treatments work for all. As part of its mission, GAP supports more than 100 clinical research sites worldwide through study start-up and recruitment activities, promoting diversity in research studies, and giving attention to the citizen scientists who make research possible.
