The Alzheimer’s Association awarded a $150,000 grant Wednesday to UC San Diego faculty member and clinical psychologist Katherine Bangen to conduct research on potential Alzheimer’s disease treatments.
The association will disperse the grant to Bangen over three years as she attempts to identify brain changes that could predict delays in cognitive function. Medical scientists could then have a pathway toward a more effective Alzheimer’s treatment.
The cause is personal for Bangen, as both of her grandfathers and her stepfather suffered from dementia.
“I’m so grateful to the Alzheimer’s Association for this grant. We couldn’t do our work without this funding,” Bangen said. “Our goal is to identify people as early as possible so that treatments are developed and these people can be targeted for intervention as soon as possible before there’s significant memory changes.”
The Alzheimer’s Association has invested more than $10 million in research funding in San Diego County and more than $410 million worldwide. The organization’s research grants mostly fund scientists in the early stages of their careers.
According to data provided by the association, more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease and 60,000 San Diego and Imperial county residents have some form of dementia.
— City News Service
