University News

UVA President To Run Boston Marathon in Support of University’s Alzheimer’s Research

University of Virginia President Jim Ryan is dedicating funds raised from his Monday Boston Marathon run to support UVA’s Alzheimer’s disease research and to support the care of patients living with the disease.

Even before the marathon’s 10 a.m. start, this will be Ryan’s most successful fundraiser yet. The president’s online fundraising page had already tallied nearly $67,000 by Thursday afternoon, besting the previous tally set last year when he raised more than $51,000 for UVA Health Children’s.

Funding for Alzheimer’s research – from both the government and charities – is critical, according to UVA’s Brain Institute Co-Director Jaideep Kapur.

“One of the things we need to raise funds for is to be able to provide care for more patients,” Kapur said. “Last year, a treatment for Alzheimer’s came, which is very exciting. Now that we have treatments, we need more physicians and caregivers. So, I’m very grateful to Jim Ryan for raising funds to boost both clinical care and research.”

More than 6 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s disease, and another 11 million Americans are providing unpaid care for relatives with the disease or other dementias, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Dr. Jaideep Kapur, co-director of UVA’s Brain Institute, says new funding is crucial to expanding care to more Alzheimer’s disease patients, now that treatment is available. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

Those growing numbers are among the reasons why UVA is devoting so much research into the disease.

“We try to bring together Alzheimer’s, neurodevelopmental disorders, epilepsy and neurological conditions to push research forward,” Kapur said. “The brain is so complex, no single person can solve any problem, so we work to bring people together to collaborate on solutions.”

Kapur said the UVA research has two missions: understanding how and why the disease takes hold, and how to treat patients already in its grip.

“Several people across the University are looking at how immune mechanisms play a role in the disease progression,” Kapur said.

One focus is on a particular kind of protein that, for some reason, changes its function and “seems to kill neurons.”

“We’re also studying one of the biggest risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, a gene called APOE4,” Kapur continued. “Dr. Sarah Flowers and her lab are investigating why having that gene increases risk.”

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The urgency for discovering better treatments, and ultimately a cure, increases with each passing year.

“As the American population ages, more patients will have dementia and Alzheimer’s disease,” Kapur said. “I think newer and better treatments will emerge to address this. Already, we know things like an active lifestyle and a Mediterranean diet seem to slow down the progression of the disease.

“Most people,” Kapur continued, “don’t realize there are things they can do to delay or prevent these diseases, but there are increasing numbers of ways to take care.”

Amy Karr, a senior associate vice president at UVA Health Development, said she sent a donation for two reasons.

“In my role at UVA Health, I’ve gotten to know some of our researchers, and I am so inspired by their work in unlocking the mysteries of this disease and their commitment to bringing hope to future patients and families,” Karr said. “I also gave to honor my dad, who has had a neurodegenerative disease similar to Alzheimer’s for more than 15 years. We’re so grateful that President Ryan has chosen to dedicate this year’s run to Alzheimer’s research, and the record success of the campaign shows how many people’s lives are touched by the disease.”

This will be Ryan’s 14th time running the Boston Marathon. Ryan’s other marathon runs as UVA president have raised more than $100,000 for charities benefitting teachers, nurses and veterans.