New York City is one of the most diverse places in the country, and families from many different backgrounds rely on the Mount Sinai hospital system for care related to Alzheimer’s disease. The Mount Sinai Neuropathology BrainBank & Research Center of Research Excellence (NPBB) is the only remaining NIH-funded Alzheimer’s brain bank in New York City, and it plays an essential role in helping scientists understand what Alzheimer’s disease actually looks like in the human brain. Recently, unexpected delays in federal funding and reductions in institutional support have forced the NPBB to stop accepting brain donations that are not already part of specific federally funded studies. As a result, we are currently unable to accept donations from many New Yorkers who wish to contribute to Alzheimer’s research, including understudied communities who make up a large portion of our clinical population. These donations are incredibly valuable because they help ensure that research reflects the full range of people affected by Alzheimer’s disease. When a donation is missed, the opportunity is gone forever. Emergency support from CureAlz would allow us to restore our ability to accept these important donations and to give each case a full, state-of-the-art evaluation. Using the same detailed procedures that our NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center follows, we will carefully examine each brain, document all relevant findings, and digitize the tissue for modern research, including advanced imaging and AI-based analysis. Restoring this program is essential for maintaining an accurate and complete understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and for developing better tools to diagnose and treat it. With this support, we can once again serve families who want to contribute to science and preserve an irreplaceable resource for future discoveries.
