The Pasqual Maragall Foundation announces the winners of the third edition of the Alzheimer's research grants

The Pasqual Maragall Foundation announces the winning projects of the third edition of the research grant programme Pasqual Maragall Researchers Programme (PMRP), aimed at promoting innovative studies on Alzheimer's and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases. With a total endowment of 1.6 million euros, the program funds initiatives of scientific excellence with up to 800,000 euros per project and a maximum duration of five years.

“Research is the only way to advance the understanding and prevention of Alzheimer's. The winning projects of this edition, as well as those of previous ones, reflect this conviction and our desire to foster a global scientific ecosystem, promoting projects of excellence and supporting research teams that, by working together and pooling knowledge, allow us to progress more quickly and effectively", highlights Dr. Arcadi Navarro, director of the Foundation and the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center.

The selected projects from the third edition of the call

The two projects selected in this edition, co-financed by ADEY Foundation, stand out for their ability to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms of Alzheimer's, as well as for bringing new therapeutic opportunities to those affected.

The project led by Dr. Maite Solas, researcher at the University of Navarra, will focus on understanding how astrocytes, cells essential for proper brain function, modify their metabolism in the context of Alzheimer's and how these changes affect key processes such as insulin signaling or glycogen storage. The team, which has the collaboration of Dr Jordi Duran, from the Ramon Llull University – Institut Químic de Sarrià (IQS), aims to determine whether intervening in these metabolic pathways could slow the progression of the disease or even reverse it in its early stages.

“Thanks to this grant, we will be able to develop a project that seeks to advance the understanding and prevention of Alzheimer's, a disease that continues to profoundly affect millions of people and their families", says Maite Solas.

And the project led by Dr. Amayra Hernández-Vega, researcher at the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), which will focus on the earliest stages of Alzheimer's, when the tau protein, key to neuronal structure, changes its behavior and forms pathological aggregates. With the collaboration of Dr. Natalia Rodríguez-Muela, from German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the team will develop in vitro reconstituted models and human models of familial Alzheimer's to identify age-related triggers and inhibitors that prevent this transition, in order to design early intervention strategies before the onset of clinical symptoms.

“For decades, Alzheimer's research has focused primarily on the symptomatic stages of the disease. Support for this project reflects the Foundation's pioneering vision in what we believe represents a paradigm shift in therapeutic strategy", adds Amayra Hernández-Vega.

The fourth call is now underway

After the success of its first three editions, we have opened the fourth call for the PMRP, again equipped with 1.6 million euros. Both individual projects led by a principal investigator and collaborative proposals from up to three research groups, with a coordinator in charge of the consortium, are eligible. Projects must be led by public or non-profit institutions based in Spain.

For more information about the new call, the complete rules are available on our website. You can also contact the program team via email: researchgrants@fpmaragall.org.