Faculty Research and Scholarly Activities
Witt Receiving Renewed Funding for NIH Alzheimer's Grant
Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder of the brain, which robs individuals of their memory and eventually their capacity for performing the necessary tasks of daily living. More than five million Americans currently live with Alzheimer’s, and this number could rise as high as 16 million by 2050.
To date, Alzheimer’s has no cure, and current medications only produce short-term benefits. Without the development of better disease-modifying drugs, the financial, societal and emotional costs of this disease will only continue to grow.
Focused efforts to combat Alzheimer’s disease are at the forefront of research in the School of Pharmacy. Ken Witt, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences, has been the principal investigator leading a team of researchers composed of medicinal chemists, pharmacologists and pharmaceutics experts on a 5-year, $2.65 million RO1 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Initial investigations by the research team began more than 10 years ago, leading them to begin working on the development of a drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s.
“The work of Dr. Witt and his colleagues in the SIUE School of Pharmacy is immensely important as they are evaluating a new biological target that may be involved in Alzheimer’s disease,” said Mark Luer, PharmD, FCCP, dean and professor. “Investigators in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences are exploring the development of new medications to address disease processes that are not already being adequately treated.”
“Dr. Witt’s research is very exciting and could be the focus of a whole new drug discovery program.”
Mark Luer, PharmD, FCCP, Dean
