Gut-brain Axis in Alzheimer's Disease: Translational 7T MRI Markers and Underlying Mechanisms

The overarching goal of the R56 project is to determine if severity of gut dysbiosis between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and healthy control (HC) individuals will correlate with their cognitive status and brain imaging markers of beta amyloid plaques (A), intraneuronal tau tangles (T), and neurodegeneration (N) (known as A/T/N); young healthy mice receiving fecal microbiome transplantation (FMT) from AD patients (FMT-AD) will have reproduced dysbiosis as the donors, which will accelerate A/T/N, neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment. Interventions with iNOS inhibition will mitigate A/T/N and neuroinflammation. The PI, Dr. Ai-Ling Lin, has moved to the University of Missouri-Columbia, and Dr. Anika Hartz will the subaward PI at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Hartz will oversee the funding distribution and expenses related to existing UK graduate student, Ya-Hsuan Chang. The student is currently in Dr. Lin’s lab at the University of Missiouri-Columbia but maintain her student status at the University of Kentucky. She will defend her PhD dissertation on November 4, 2024. As such, this subaward is to facilitate their continued support costs (salary, fringe benefits, tuition, and travel expenses) between September to December 2024.