Associate Professor Vivek Swarup of the UC Irvine Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences has been awarded a competitive Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant to investigate an emerging area of study in Alzheimer’s disease: the role of oligodendrocytes.
Traditionally, Alzheimer’s has been viewed as a disease of nerve cells, with treatments and research largely focused on neurons and the plaques and tangles that disrupt their function. However, new evidence suggests that supporting cells called oligodendrocytes — best known for insulating and protecting nerve fibers — may also play a direct role in disease progression. In Alzheimer’s, these cells appear to malfunction and may even contribute to the formation of damaging amyloid plaques.
Swarup’s project, Targeting Oligodendrocyte Dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease, will examine how changes in a key regulator of these cells affect their function and the broader course of Alzheimer’s. The ultimate goal is to uncover whether targeting oligodendrocyte dysfunction could open new pathways for slowing or preventing the disease.
The Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant supports innovative projects that challenge existing ideas and push the boundaries of traditional Alzheimer’s research, expanding the possibilities for future treatments.