# Training in Neurodegenerative Diseases

> **NIH NIH T32** · CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $156,756

## Abstract

As our population ages, the incidence of Alzheimer disease (AD), Parkinson disease (PD), Amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS) and other related neurodegenerative diseases continues to rise, and the need for successful
translational research programs is imperative to maintain a healthy aging population and reduce the burden of
increased health care costs on society. While much understanding of neurodegenerative mechanisms have
been gained over the years of investigation, not much had been successfully translated into patient treatment
which calls for deeper appreciation of these diseases through clinical perspective in the future
neurodegeneration investigators. The Neurodegeneration Training Program (NTP) has been designed for
selected students to provide rigorous pre-doctoral scientific training in the field of neurodegeneration along with
extensive clinical exposure. The goal of the NTP is to provide trainees with the fundamental skills necessary
for outstanding careers in neurodegeneration research, together with an appreciation of the challenges and
complexity of diagnosing and treating neurodegenerative diseases in the clinical setting. The NTP emphasizes
rigorous PHD training in fundamental aspects of neurodegeneration and mechanisms of diseases involving
neurodegeneration and clinical perspectives through classroom teaching, neurodegeneration-related
laboratory research and mentored neurodegenerative clinical experiences combined with educational forums
that address important topics in clinical and translational neurodegeneration research.
A competitive pool of trainees will combine with 19 outstanding faculty in state-of –the-art facilities to
investigate a wide range of neurodegeneration-related topics spanning research areas such as molecular
genetics, protein structure, cell and molecular biology and in vitro and in vivo models of disease. The NTP
promotes collaboration between departments and schools at Case Western Reserve University, particularly the
School of Medicine, and with its affiliated institutions in the Cleveland area: University Hospitals Cleveland
Medical Center (UHCMC), and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF, including the Lerner Research Institute).
All of these institutions are within walking distance of each other and this rich training environment enjoys very
active basic science and clinical activities. The updated curriculum provides a solid foundation for
neurodegeneration research. The well-received mentored neurodegenerative clinical experience has been
expanded to include six renowned clinicians enabling direct interaction with patients and caregivers in several
different clinical centers close to CWRU campus providing motivation to the trainees to produce advances in
disease diagnosis and therapies. The recently added career development and professional enrichment module
ensures better preparedness of our trainees to achieve their desired career goals. Together, NTP training will
provide trainees a solid fou...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10425313
- **Project number:** 5T32NS077888-09
- **Recipient organization:** CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Xiongwei Zhu
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $156,756
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10425313

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10425313, Training in Neurodegenerative Diseases (5T32NS077888-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10425313. Licensed CC0.

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