Cure Alzheimer's Fund Cure Alzheimer's Fund

The Rick Sharp Alzheimer’s Foundation (RSAF) was founded in 2015 to drive progress to end Alzheimer’s disease. RSAF has partnered with CureAlz to identify and support cutting-edge research through the Rick Sharp Alzheimer’s Initiative (RSAI) at Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. RSAI empowers researchers to explore new pathways and accelerate discoveries that bring us closer to ending this disease.

In 2025, CureAlz Board member and RSAF Chair Richard Birnbaum brought together RSAF, the Red Gates Foundation, and CureAlz—three organization united by a shared commitment to ending the burden of disease through vital scientific discovery and progress—to support two cross-institutional, interdisciplinary research consortia: the Brain Entry & Exit Consortium and the Sleep & Circadian Rhythms Consortium. The CureAlz consortium model supports large-scale investigations within specific areas of Alzheimer’s research and brings investigators from around the world to collaborate, share insights, and exchange data—accelerating progress and bringing us closer to meaningful advances in Alzheimer’s prevention and treatment.

The Brain Entry & Exit Consortium

This consortium investigates how age-related changes at the brain’s borders influence disease risk and progression.

Se Hoon Choi, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital

Richard Daneman, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego

Ming Guo, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Roger D. Kamm, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jonathan Kipnis, Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Chair of the consortium

Maria Lehtinen, Ph.D., Boston Children’s Hospital

Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., University of Rochester

Daniel S. Reich, M.D., Ph.D., National Institutes of Health

The Sleep & Circadian Rhythms Consortium

This consortium is studying how biological clock disruptions interact with Alzheimer’s pathology.

Erin M. Gibson, Ph.D., Stanford University

Mary Harrington, Ph.D., Smith College

Yo-El Ju, M.D., MSCI, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Eng Lo, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School | Massachusetts General Hospital

Shannon L. Macauley, Ph.D., University of Kentucky

Cameron McAlpine, Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Erik S. Musiek, M.D., Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; Chair of the Consortium

RSAI has also supported the following projects:

Selective Vulnerability in Posterior Cortical Atrophy
John R. Dickson, M.D., Ph.D. & Bradley T. Hyman, M.D., Ph.D.
Massachusetts General Hospital | Harvard Medical School

Regional Variability of Pathology-Associated Properties of Tau in Posterior Cortical Atrophy
Bradley T. Hyman, M.D., Ph.D. & John R. Dickson, M.D., Ph.D.
Massachusetts General Hospital | Harvard Medical School

Combined Hormone Therapy as a Novel Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease in the Face of a Metabolic Challenge: Influence of Sex and Genotype
Liisa Galea, Ph.D. & Annie Ciernia, Ph.D.
University of British Columbia, Canada

Tau and Amyloid Beta are Innate Immune Antimicrobial Peptides in the Brain
William Eimer, Ph.D.
Massachusetts General Hospital | Harvard Medical School

Learn more about the partnership between CureAlz and RSAF and the Rick Sharp Alzheimer’s Initiative at CureAlz here.