Philanthropy News
THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY AND THE FISHER CENTER FOR ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH FOUNDATION EXPAND PARTNERSHIP TO CURE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES
NEW YORK, NY, January 29, 2021—The Rockefeller University and the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation today announced a $5 million expansion of their longstanding partnership in seeking a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. This newest gift creates the Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Professorship in Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Disease.
The inaugural occupant of the Fisher chair is Sidney Strickland, Ph.D., head of the Patricia and John Rosenwald Laboratory of Neurobiology and Genetics at Rockefeller. Dr. Strickland and his colleagues investigate neurovascular dysfunction—an innovative approach to Alzheimer’s that holds promise for the development of new therapeutics to treat the disease.
Dr. Strickland is affiliated with Rockefeller’s Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research—a nexus for neurodegenerative disease investigations at the university. The center was established in 1994 and led by Nobel Laureate Paul Greengard until his death in 2019. Dr. Greengard’s longtime collaborator Dr. Marc Flajolet has stepped in as acting director while the university conducts a search for his successor.
“Private support enables our scientists to conduct the type of audacious research that leads to breakthroughs,” said Rockefeller University President Richard P. Lifton. “The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation has been an extraordinary partner in helping us to build one of the premier neurodegenerative research programs in the world. The named professorship for Sidney Strickland will help to advance our understanding of and treatment for many debilitating diseases. We are honored by their commitment to the university and to the advancement of science.”
Barry R. Sloane, chairman of the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation said, “We are proud of our longstanding support of Rockefeller University and its pioneering research on Alzheimer’s and neurodegenerative disease. Many of Rockefeller twenty-six Nobel Prizes have been in the field of brain science, and neuroscience continues to be a growing field at the university. Dr. Sidney Strickland’s research has broken new ground and adds new strength to the research programs under way at the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at Rockefeller.”
About the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation
The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation provides millions of dollars for novel Alzheimer’s research primarily conducted by the late Nobel Laureate Dr. Paul Greengard and his team of over 45 internationally renowned scientists at the Fisher Center lab at The Rockefeller University, plus other leading research institutes around the world.
Their mission is to understand the causes of Alzheimer’s disease, improve the care of people living with it, and find a cure. Their vision is working towards a future where Alzheimer’s is nothing but a memory.
