October 2024

NEUROSCIENCES

NORTHWESTERN MEDICINE ANNOUNCES NEW CENTER TO FOSTER BREAKTHROUGHS IN AI AND NEUROGENOMICS

Northwestern Medicine has announced a major new center focused on leveraging insights from artificial intelligence (AI) for rapid discovery in Alzheimer’s disease research.

A $25 million gift from Wendy and Jim Abrams and the Eleven Eleven Foundation will endow the The Abrams Research Center on Neurogenomics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, with a mission to drive scientific innovations and develop effective interventions for Alzheimer’s disease. The new center, led by David Gate, PhD, assistant professor of Neurology in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, will integrate AI and other leading-edge genomics technologies, computational approaches and strategic international collaborations.

 "We are thrilled to support the world-class research team at Northwestern Medicine. Through collaboration and technological innovation, we are optimistic that their efforts will bring us closer to finding a cure in the near future," said Wendy and Jim Abrams.

Through the establishment of the center, the Northwestern team will create a suite of new AI tools and analysis methods that allow neuroscientists to interrogate the genes and cell types affected by Alzheimer's disease. The success of these efforts will help fill the chasm between the current understanding of Alzheimer's disease at the level of genes and their functions, with the ultimate goal of developing novel clinical applications.

​"This gift has the potential to be transformational in the way we care for and treat patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease,” said Howard B. Chrisman, MD, president and chief executive officer, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. “This act of kindness and generosity by Wendy and Jim Abrams and the Eleven Eleven Foundation will have a global reach on patients, caregivers and those impacted by this deadly disease.”

The center will build on established collaborations and work with international scientists to analyze the volumes of data that are currently incomprehensible, but through modern tools can identify key pieces of information that further the science and mystery behind Alzheimer’s disease. These human data sets, provided through clinical and research partnerships, will make the information more accessible to other scientists and foster collaboration within the field. By facilitating agreements with pharmaceutical and AI industry partners, the center aims to streamline research processes, accelerating the pace of discoveries becoming therapeutics.

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