NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

Biomarkers indicate biological processes, pathogenic processes, or responses to interventions. Categories of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) biomarkers include susceptibility/risk, diagnostic, monitoring, prognostic, predictive, response/pharmacodynamic, and safety biomarkers. The Division of Neuroscience (DN) at NIA is committed to advancing biomarker research for AD/ADRD, emphasizing open science practices and data sharing. NIA outlines research milestones to validate biomarkers and provides funding opportunities and resources for AD/ADRD biomarker development. FDA-approved products for AD/ADRD include in vitro diagnostic tests and PET tracers. CLEAR-AD, funded by NIA, aims to identify next-generation AD biomarkers and establish a precision medicine approach for multi-omics biomarker discovery and validation.

Dr. Silvia Formenti and Dr. Massimo Loda, both at Weill Cornell Medicine, were elected to the National Academy of Medicine for their significant contributions to advancing medical sciences, health care, and public health. Formenti, a leader in radiation oncology and breast cancer research, pioneered combining radiation and immunotherapy, while Loda's work in molecular pathology highlighted prostate cancer metabolism, leading to targeted therapies.

A study coordinated by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Duke Clinical Research Institute found that montelukast, commonly used to prevent asthma attacks, does not speed recovery from mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms. The randomized controlled trial involving 1,250 outpatients published in JAMA Network Open showed no difference in recovery time between montelukast and placebo groups. The findings highlight the ongoing challenge of identifying effective outpatient COVID-19 therapies.

Kidney Compass, hosted by Brendon Neuen and Shikha Wadhwani, aims to simplify nephrology and clinical trials. The inaugural episode discusses their backgrounds, motivations, and key topics like glomerular disease and diabetic kidney disease. Future episodes will explore deeper aspects of nephrology research.

A $25 million gift from the Jacobs family establishes the Joan Klein Jacobs Center for Precision Nutrition and Health at Cornell, honoring Joan Jacobs' legacy and advancing precision nutrition research. The center aims to revolutionize nutritional sciences by providing targeted dietary guidance and bridging academic research to practical applications, with a focus on preventing and managing diseases.

In a cluster-randomized trial of 67 communities, intervention communities showed a nonsignificant 8% lower overdose death rate and a significant 37% reduction in deaths involving opioids and psychostimulants other than cocaine. These results suggest that community-focused, data-driven interventions with communication campaigns may help reduce some opioid-involved polysubstance overdose deaths.

RPI awarded two NIA grants for AD research training: $1.2M for T32 program integrating data science, engineering, and life sciences, and $1.26M for RAFAELs program focusing on commercialization. Both programs aim to bridge theory and practice, fostering interdisciplinary research and industry exposure.

The CDRP program aims to accelerate drug development by enhancing FDA-sponsor communication and offering regulatory flexibility, targeting therapies with expedited clinical timelines to improve patient access to life-saving treatments.