WIMR researcher’s innovative approach to Alzheimer’s disease awarded national funding

Congratulations to WIMR’s Dr Caitlin Finney, who has been awarded $690,910 over two years through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Early to Mid-Career Researchers Initiative for her innovative approach to understanding the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

The project, led by Dr Finney, is titled ‘Accelerating precision medicine for Alzheimer’s disease using human 3D brain models and machine learning’.

The project aims to uncover how a genetic variant called APOE4 drives Alzheimer’s disease, and how newly identified protective genetic mutations can counteract these effects. To do this, it will use cutting-edge 3D brain models derived from the stem cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease, multi-omic technologies, and advanced machine learning.

This research will help uncover the elusive biology of the Alzheimer’s disease APOE4 genetic variant. It will pave the way for more effective, personalised, and targeted treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.