Florida Surgeon General Joseph Lapado visited UF’s McKnight Brain Institute on Monday to announce $4.2 million in new funding for eight Florida institutions. 

The funds come through Florida’s Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program, and Lapado said the state has awarded $35 million for research into the disease since 2018.  

“Alzheimer’s certainly is a condition that cuts up a lot of people, and it underscores the importance of research in this area and examination of the different theories for the etiology, along with the treatment options,” Lapado said.  

The funding will go to the following organizations:  

Baptist Health Jacksonville – $350,000 (principal investigator: Dr. Ricardo Hanel) 

University of Florida – Nearly $550,000 across three research projects (principal investigators: Dr. Ricardo Hanel; Dr. Franchesca Arias; Dr. Yonghui Wu) 

Mayo Clinic Jacksonville – Nearly $1.5 million across five research projects (principal investigators: Dr. Wilfried O. Rossoll; Dr. Aria Yslas; Dr. Wolfdieter Springer; Dr. Fabienne Fiesel; Dr. Lea Tenenholz Grinberg) 

University of Miami – Nearly $700,000 across two research projects (principal investigators: Dr. Anthony Griswold; Dr. Rosie Curiel Cid) 

Mount Sinai Medical Center of Florida – Nearly $350,000 (principal investigator: Dr. Ranjan Duara) 

University of Central Florida – Nearly $450,000 across two research projects (principal investigators: Dr. Nicole Dawson; Dr. Kiminobu Sugaya) 

AdventHealth Orlando – $350,000 (principal investigator: Dr. Kirk Erickson) 

Florida Atlantic University – $250,000 (principal investigator: Dr. Ruth Tappen) 

“The research that’s going to be funded is really diverse, everything from diagnosis to treatment to really basic science in terms of understanding the disease,” Lapado said. 

Florida Department of Elder Affairs Secretary Michelle Branham joined Lapado at the award announcement and has worked closely in the Alzheimer’s sector.  

She spent 10 years with the Alzheimer’s Association, and in January, Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy appointed her as chair of his Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care and Services.  

Branham pointed out that Florida has the second-highest rate for the disease and said Gov. Ron DeSantis was the only governor when he came into office to create an Alzheimer’s Action Plan. She said the state was able to knock out the five main points of that plan over five years.  

“I feel like the research pipelines are more robust and promising than ever,” Branham said. “I feel like we have the opportunity, this lightning in a bottle, time to really plug in into the public health arena and bring this to the forefront of America as a public health crisis. 

Branham said she believes in her heart that a cure will come within our lifetimes.  

Dr. Jennifer Bizon, director of the McKnight Brain Institute, thanked Lapado for choosing the institute to make the announcement and also for the new funding that will support its researchers.  

She said the institute works to coordinate neuroscience research across all of UF’s divisions.  

The challenge of Alzheimer’s disease is too large for any single lab, any discipline, or any institution to solve alone,” Bizon said. “But by combining the infrastructure, scientific collaboration, and clinical expertise, we believe we can advance discoveries that will mean meaningfully improve outcomes for patients and families.” 

The institute supports more than 250 faculty across 50 academic units.