Elgendy Receives $426,000 National Institute on Aging Grant to Support Alzheimer’s Research
Published on 18 May 2020
Bahaa Elgendy, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicinal chemistry at St. Louis College of Pharmacy, recently received more than $426,000 in grant funds from the National Institute on Aging to support research focused on the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Through his work, Elgendy will investigate the estrogen-related receptor alpha (ERRα) and the critical role it plays in regulating genes involved in oxidative stress and inflammation. Elgendy’s research will work to develop first-in-class chemical probes to validate ERRa as a potential target for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Elgendy is serving as principal investigator on the project and will be supported by Tom Burris, Ph.D., FAAAS, FAHA, Alumni Chair in Pharmaceutical Education and vice president for research at the College, who will serve as co-investigator.
“Alzheimer’s disease affects about 47 million patients worldwide and is now identified as the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S., but there are significant unmet needs in the development of therapeutics to treat the disease,” Elgendy said. “The success rate for Alzheimer’s drug approval is one of the lowest in all therapeutic areas, which is why we’re focused on exploring novel drug targets, like ERRa, that play a functional role in the pathology of Alzheimer’s. Through our work, we hope to find new and improved drug compounds to treat this disease that impacts so many.”
This research award and other recent grant awards are evidence of the College’s growing capacity and recognition as a research institution. Across the College, faculty researchers are engaged in exciting projects, both in individual laboratories and through the College’s academic and research centers.
Today, the College receives annual funding through the National Institute on Aging, the National Institutes of Health, and other granting agencies such as the American Heart Association and the U.S. Department of Defense.
To learn more about this project and the wide range of research currently underway at the Center for Clinical Pharmacology, visit clinicalpharmstl.org. To learn more about research at the College, visit stlcop.edu/research.
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