Current Urgent Funding Need!

A Chance to Solve Alzheimer’s Disease

Why do some people but not others get Alzheimer’s disease? This a question that has puzzled researchers for years. With new advances in brain imaging and increased understanding of DNA and genes the answer to this questions is at our finger tips. There is an opportunity to help answer this question. Anonymous donors have pledged $270,000 to researchers at UCI and their colleagues provided that they can obtain matching of $540,000 by September 30, 2007. So far the UCI researchers have almost half of the needed match. The funds will be used to measure 1 million aspects of genes in 850 subjects who are participating in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). The ADNI project is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and industry for approximately $60,000,000. But this funding does not cover research into genetic measures and analysis. So far $230,000 of matching funds have been committed by NIH, industry and private donors. That leaves only $320,000 to be raised by September 30. Without the $320,000, another $500,000 in the original donation and subsequent matching funds will be lost – along with a unique scientific opportunity. “We are on the verge of discovering the genes that cause Alzheimer’s disease – we have the right technology and DNA samples from the people participating in the unique ADNI sample,” says UCI investigator Professor Steven Potkin. “This is a unique opportunity to understand Alzheimer’s disease. We only need $320,000 more but only have 27 days in which to raise the rest.”

While raising money for Alzheimer’s is an important aspect to this story, it is also an opportunity to give readers and viewers an inside look into how most science is funded. While there is a lot of attention to big grants, most research is done by piecing together of money from various sources. This situation at UCI provides an opportunity for readers and viewers to help - and to understand the realities of science today. For more information, contact Dr. Potkin at sgpotkin@uci.edu or cell phone 949. 910.1936.

Funding for UCI brain imaging center

The work of the Brain Imaging Center depends on funding. Cash gifts allow the development of pilot studies which in turn may lead to major grants. Our funding is from endowments, federal and state grants, individuals and private firms.

Medical research is very expensive. Up-to-date measuring and monitoring equipment, computer hardware and software, supplies, and research subject care are among the basic requirements for a research project. The elaborate technical and manpower requirements for basic and clinical research programs place a tremendous financial responsibility on a research institution. While the Brain Imaging Center has now acquired the necessary equipment to carry on day to day research, over time new equipment will be needed to remain on the leading edge of this fascinating field. The original 1985 PET scanner had become outdated and was a bottleneck. Our state-of-the-art High Resolution Research Tomograph (HRRT) PET scanner offers the highest resolution PET images available (-2mm isotropic resolution) and requires less time to take the scans. Imaging processing equipment, while adequate for our present needs, will require updating to keep pace with the fast-moving field of computer graphics.

Without private support from individuals, corporations, and foundations, the Brain Imaging Center might not exist. Support can also be in the form of volunteer hours. It does make a difference.

Over the years, The Brain Imaging Center has been fortunate to have had the generous support of the community. One of the first cash gifts was $250,000 from Eldon and Marjorie Lockhart. Another was a gift of $100,000 from Dr. Eric and Lila Nelson's Nelson Research Center. The purchase of the $1.8 million cyclotron was made possible by a grant of $575,000 from the Irvine Health Foundation in 1988. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sprague generously gifted $2.1 million to the Brain Imaging Center in 1999. A more recent gift of $116,150 was received from Mr. and Mrs. Betty and Eugene Koch in 2006.

With a $1,000 donation in one scholastic year, a donor becomes a Fellow member. When the program was started a Fellows member chose a special day on the Committee Fellows/365 calendar. Peggy Goldwater Clay watched as Pilar Wayne entered John Wayne's May 26 birthday to kick off the Fellows program. Throughout the year, special events are planned for the Fellows members.

Major Gifts

$2,100,000	Margret and Robert Sprague	1999-2000
$575,000	Irvine Health Foundation	1988
$250,000	Eldon and Marjorie Lockhart
$200,000	Allergan Pharamceutical	2005
$116,108	Betty and Eugene Koch	2005
$100,000	Margret and Robert Sprague
$100,000	Dr. Eric and Lila Nelson's Nelson Research Center

Other Sources of Funding:

University Funds

The Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior submits a budget to the University that includes state funds, grant funds from various resources, and donations from the community. Use of all funds is traced by the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior’s accounting office at University of California Medical Center (UCIMC).

Grants

Federal Government Grants: grant applications at UCI, due March 1st of each year, must be routed through the Office of Contracts and Grant Administration and approved by the University. If a grant application survives a rigorous selection process, it stands roughly a 10 percent chance of being funded. Often it is a very long wait before the researchers are notified that their grant request has been funded or rejected.

Foundation Grants: all proposals for funding from large foundations are routed through the office of Foundation Relations. The University selects the grant application/s deemed most worthy of submission and presents them to the Foundation. The Brain Imaging Center has had grant applications selected by the University for submission and has been awarded numerous grants. Considering the large number of worthy applications, this speaks well for the quality of research at the Brain Imaging Center.

Gifts

Cash gifts: cash gifts may be made directly to the Brain Imaging Center or the Brain Imaging Center Committee. Gifts in kind: personal property may be donated directly to The Brain Imaging Center.

Special Event Funds

Donations honoring an anniversary, a birthday, a graduation, or other event are another way to remember a very special occasion.

Memorial Funds

Memorial donations are a positive way to remember a special person. Memorial funds may be established and added to in the future. When appropriate, a gift may be made in lieu of flowers in memory of a deceased loved family member or friend.

Planned Giving

Expert attorneys retained by the University of California, Irvine, at no cost to the donor, will execute a planned giving program for the donor.

Endowments

Endowments are important because they provide support in perpetuity. Endowments provide support for endowed chairs, research funds, fellowships, scholarships, lecture series, program operating expenses, and other long term activities.

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