Jean Paul Chadarevian, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Blurton-Jones Lab at UCI MIND has been awarded a three-year, $225,000 grant from the Larry L. Hillblom Foundation to support his research to better understand how peripheral immune cells contribute to the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). For his project, “Examining the impact of peripheral monocyte-derived macrophage infiltration in AD pathogenesis,” Dr. Chadarevian will investigate how immune cells beyond the blood-brain barrier infiltrate the brain and influence the development of disease pathology. This research is crucial to elucidating the role that immune cells from the bloodstream play in the neuroinflammatory contributions to AD.
Dr. Chadarevian’s research will use advanced models and multiomic approaches to compare the function of the brain’s own immune cells (microglia) with that of infiltrating human monocyte-derived macrophages in the brain. This will help determine if these “foreign” cells help clear AD pathology and protect the brain or worsen the neuroinflammation and further harm the brain. Expressing gratitude, Dr. Chadarevian said the grant is a “fantastic opportunity to delve into the complex role of the immune system in Alzheimer’s disease.” He hopes results from this study will one day lead to new therapeutic targets of AD through immune cells.
