Professor Cliff Abraham and his colleagues have secured almost five million dollars of Health Research Council (HRC) funding over the next five years to further research into fighting Alzheimer’s disease. Cliff, a leading researcher of Alzheimer’s disease and co-director of Brain Research New Zealand, believes that it is not a case of if researchers will find a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, but when they will find that treatment.
Alzheimer’s disease is a huge problem in our ageing society, and is the most expensive disease in New Zealand. Yet, despite the tsunami of Alzheimer’s prevalence in the ageing population, there are many reasons to be optimistic about Alzheimer’s research in New Zealand. Cliff and his team together maintain five research labs in biochemistry, anatomy, pharmacy, and psychology. By combining the strengths of each discipline, and the manpower of thirty individual researchers, they plan to uncover more of the mystery behind Alzheimer’s disease, and attempt to harness the brain’s own neuroprotective molecules to fight the disease.
To learn more about Cliff, his team, and what this grant will mean for Alzheimer’s research in New Zealand watch his interview with Rebecca Depree below.
