Posted February 15, 2018
Launched in 2005 by Rudy Tanzi, Ph.D. and Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, the Alzheimer’s Genome Project™ (AGP) was the first large-scale, family-based study of the human genome specific to Alzheimer’s disease.
Initially, the Alzheimer’s Genome Project screened the DNA of more than 400 Alzheimer’s families, searching for genes that might increase risk for – or offer protection against – Alzheimer’s disease. The first phase of this study identified more than 100 candidate genes and was the first study to report novel Alzheimer’s genes that reached statistical significance. The Alzheimer’s Genome Project was listed in Time Magazines’s Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2008. The Alzheimer’s Genome Project has been in place since it began in 2005 and has provided the foundation for other major genetic studies spearheaded by Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, including Whole Genome Sequencing and the Genes to Therapies program. Together, these studies provide a complete picture of the many genetic factors contributing to Alzheimer’s disease and highlight the genes that may be candidates for intervention with therapeutics.