A scalable patient to petri dish (P2P) initiative for investigating Alzheimer’s Disease
PI: Dr. Anirban Paul
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions of Americans and expected to triple by 2060. With AD patients doubling every five years after 65, finding treatments and delaying disease progression is urgent. Current mouse models of AD do not fully capture its complexity, while human studies are limited to postmortem samples and imaging, offering correlative data. Patient-derived cells are crucial for understanding AD biology and manipulating samples in vitro. Technologies like iPSC and organoids allow for the replication of organ complexity, but well-characterized patient-derived AD cells are lacking. We propose a "patient-to-petri dish" (P2P) pipeline to generate organoids from AD patients and investigate the contributions of neurons and vasculature to the disease. A multidisciplinary team of eleven principal investigators from Penn State University will collaborate to overcome barriers such as expertise, access to donor materials, and logistical challenges. By harnessing existing strengths and establishing a unified team, we aim to address the personalized population health priority outlined in the PSU strategic plan. The P2P pipeline will not only enhance PSU's competitiveness in AD research but also provide transferable knowledge to address other complex disorders like Parkinson's disease, autism, and schizophrenia. By formalizing logistics and nurturing interdisciplinary collaboration, PSU can make significant contributions to understanding and treating these conditions.