Cure Alzheimer's Fund Cure Alzheimer's Fund

In 2025, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund received a $50 million gift from The Cardinal Family Fund—the largest contribution in the organization’s 21-year history of advancing Alzheimer’s disease research.

Moving swiftly to turn generosity into action, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund launched a five-year initiative to drive scientific progress across three key programmatic areas and directed $10 million of the gift in 2025 alone. Together, the three Cardinal Family Fund programs form a resilient framework that enables the support of the next generation of Alzheimer’s research leaders, the advancement of studies into the factors that influence disease risk and progression across diverse populations, and safeguards progress when federal funding uncertainty threatens the continuity of vital Alzheimer’s research.

SUPPORTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS

The Cardinal Family Scholars Fund for Alzheimer’s Disease Research program supports early- and mid-career scientists emerging as the next leaders in the field. Cardinal Family Scholars receive robust two-year support for research, personnel, supplies, scientific communication, and professional development opportunities unique to the program.

Each year’s cohort includes at least five investigators, with a goal of supporting a minimum of twenty Scholars between 2026 and 2030. In 2025, the inaugural cohort of six Cardinal Family Scholars received support to amplify their research programs strengthening both their individual careers and the future of Alzheimer’s research.

 

Meet the 2025 Cardinal Family Scholars

ADVANCING PRECISION MEDICINE FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Alzheimer’s disease follows different paths—and understanding the underlying factors behind these differences is essential to ending the disease. The Cardinal Family Precision Medicine Research Fund advances investigations into biological and other factors that drive differences in Alzheimer’s disease risk and progression for subgroups within our community so that we can end this disease for everyone. By supporting studies that examine genetic background, biological sex, ancestry, and lived experiences, the program builds better understanding of Alzheimer’s trajectories—accelerating the development of treatments and prevention strategies that can serve all patients.

This program strengthens the scientific foundation that makes discoveries into the diverse nature of Alzheimer’s disease possible. In 2025, the program supported five brain banks nationwide, preserving access to rigorously characterized human tissue generously donated by patients of historically underrepresented subgroups in Alzheimer’s research. These resources enable scientists to validate biomarkers, study disease processes directly in human samples, and advance findings that cannot be achieved through disease models alone. Sustaining such resource infrastructure is critical to preserve the momentum of high-impact research to continue.

PROTECTING PROGRESS WHEN IT MATTERS MOST

In response to federal funding disruptions, the Cardinal Family Emergency Relief Fund provides strategic bridge funding for meritorious projects across foundational, translational, and clinical Alzheimer’s research. The program helps sustain research that has demonstrated scientific excellence and impact but is experiencing funding uncertainty, ensuring that important work and the researchers behind it remain resilient.

By supporting research teams between federal submission rounds, the program helps minimize disruptions while investigators continue to pursue federal funds. Supported investigators are to reapply for federal funds, and CureAlz support concludes once federal funding is secured, ensuring that emergency funds are used to complement—rather than replace—public investment.

A key component of this effort is the Cardinal Family Emergency Trainee Program. Scientific breakthroughs depend on continuity, yet researchers in training are often the first to feel the impact of sudden funding shifts. The Emergency Trainee Program meets that moment. By bridging critical gaps, the program allows graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to finish key experiments, safeguard irreplaceable data, and stay focused on discovery rather than uncertainty.

Meet the Trainees Supported in 2025 

A UNIFIED STRATEGY TO END ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Together, the Cardinal Family Scholars Fund, Precision Medicine Research Fund, and Emergency Relief Fund reflect a coordinated, forward-looking strategy: investing in scientific talent, advancing research that reflects the diversity of Alzheimer’s disease, and protecting progress at critical moments. Fueled by the Cardinal Family Fund’s extraordinary generosity, the three key programs strengthen the Alzheimer’s research ecosystem and accelerate Cure Alzheimer’s Fund’s mission to end this disease.

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