An international study led by the Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CRND) at U of T has received a £5-million ($8.8-million Canadian) grant to help better understand the complex chemistry behind the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by brain cells being killed as a result of the accumulation of specific proteins in the brain. But how this process works is still unclear. An international consortium led by CRND Director Dr. Peter St. George-Hyslop will use innovative tools from physics, chemistry, computer science, genomics, biology and model organisms, to determine why these proteins accumulate. A better understanding of this process would help in the crucial early detection and treatment of the disease.

The grant is provided by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom. The study is a partnership with researchers at U of T, the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol in the UK, and Germany’s Max-Planck-Unit for Structural Molecular Biology. Along with his role as Director of the CRND, Dr. St. George-Hyslop is cross-appointed to the University of Cambridge.

Read more about the study at the Wellcome Trust website.