This proposal seeks support for new faculty recruitment to chance research capacity at Emory University in the area of novel therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disease through the biomedical research core center (p30) mechanism. As the center director, Dr. Raymond Dingledine (Chairman and Professor of Pharmacology and the Executive Associate Dean for Research in the School of Medicine) will work with Drs. Allan Levey (Chairman and Professor of Neurology and Director of Center for Neurodegenerative Disease) and Lian Li (Vice Chair and Professor of Pharmacology) to recruit and mentor a highly motivated tenure- track Assistant Professor to conduct research focusing on the basic and/or translational studies of neurodegenerative disease, with relevance to the development of novel therapeutic strategies for combating neurodegeneration. The newly-recruited investigator will have primary appointment in the Department of Pharmacology and secondary appointments in the Department of Neurology and the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease. The core center will leverage generous institutional support for space, personnel, and other resources and provide an outstanding, collaborative, and interdisciplinary environment and a comprehensive, thorough, and rigorous faculty development and evaluation plan that foster independent research career and professional development of the new faculty member. Achieving the goals proposed in this application will augment and expand Emory's community of multidisciplinary researchers focusing on the basic, translational, and clinic studies of neurodegenerative diseases, establish and strengthen the intra-institutional relationships among various components, including Departments of Pharmacology and Neurology, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Comprehensive Neuroscience Institute, Chemical Biology Discovery Center, and Drug Discovery Institute, and facilitate the development of novel therapeutic approaches for treating neurodegenerative diseases.
Neurodegenerative diseases are becoming more common as the population ages, but currently there is no cure to stop the progression of these devastating illnesses. The plans described in this application will enhance Emory's multidisciplinary research capacity on the studies of neurodegenerative diseases and promote the development of new therapeutic strategies for combating neurodegeneration.
