Medical imaging has changed how brain degeneration is studied and treated, and improving access to that imaging is what Western researcher and assistant professor Justin Hicks is working on.
On Thursday, the Alzheimer Society of Canada, alongside Brain Canada Foundation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Aging, and Research Manitoba announced $6 million of funding for 44 dementia researchers.
"We are setting the standard for dementia research in this country," Christopher Barry, the CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, said.
The Alzheimer Society Research Program (ASRP) funds projects that fall into eight categories, which include care, cause, diagnosis, epidemiology, risk, therapy, translational, and treatment.
Hicks' project falls into the diagnosis category with a study that looks to develop radioactive probes for improving access to state-of-the-art molecular imaging of neurodegeneration.
The best tool for imaging changes in the brain is not widely available. An equivalent tool, called single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is more available, but lacks radioactive probes which can generate certain images. Hicks' team plans to create and evaluate molecules labeled with technetium-99m, the most-used radionuclide in the world, which will be able to create those images. The images can then be used as a diagnostic tool to screen people at risk for developing dementia, to track disease progress, or evaluate therapy effectiveness.
Hicks' proof of concept grant from ASRP, co-funded by the Brain Canada Foundation, is worth $50,000.