October 27, 2017
Dr. Wei Zheng, Professor of Health Sciences & Toxicology and a member of the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience (PIIN), and his team were awarded a $2M grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences entitled “Lead Exposure and Beta-amyloid Transport by Brain Barriers.” Dr. Linda Nie, Associate Professor in the School of Health Sciences and also a PIIN member is a collaborator on this project. Purdue researchers are teaming up with Indiana University School of Medicine to use the transgenic animal model, dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomographic technique, and synchrotron X-ray approach to qualify brain barrier’s permeability and to investigate how metal exposure weakens the barrier’s structure and function. The project will build the foundation on which to develop therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer’s disease.
