Huge Congratulations to Dr. Wonjae Lee for receiving the 2024 NACC New Investigator Award!

The National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) and the Alzheimer’s Association, announced the 2024 recipients of the New Investigator Award Program on Monday, May 6 at the Spring ADRC Meeting in Austin. Representing the Duke/UNC ADRC, Dr. Wonjae Lee’s research project:  “Unveiling the Neurovascular Responses to Amyloid-Beta Antibodies” was selected from the largest applicant pool in program history with 154 proposals representing 34 Centers. 

Summary of Awarded Proposal

Passive immunotherapy for Alzheimer’s disease, which involves administering monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid-beta peptides, does not consistently improve clinical outcomes and may cause complications such as vascular inflammation and BBB disruption. The project aims to use a Neurovascular Unit-on-a-Chip to study the effects of amyloid-beta antibodies on neurovascular interactions and BBB integrity across different patient conditions to enhance therapy effectiveness. By incorporating human cells and patient-derived serum, the research seeks to identify optimal treatment modalities and develop a human-derived model for precision medicine in Alzheimer’s and related dementias.