The Alzheimer’s Association awarded Leonardo Rivera-Rivera, PhD, a 3-year Research Grant and Fellowship in the amount of $179,999 to investigate the development of Alzheimer’s disease through vascular imaging research. Rivera-Rivera is a research associate in the UW Department of Medical Physics and a member of the Sterling Johnson Imaging Lab.
Living in Wisconsin for over a decade, Rivera-Rivera completed his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with his dissertation focused on vascular health and Alzheimer’s disease. His research is using vascular imaging to detect early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Through his PhD studies, Rivera-Rivera worked on translating 4D flow MRI into the clinic. The grant he received centralizes on detecting the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease through MRI techniques that examine vessels to quantify blood flow as best as possible.
He received a collection of 4D Flow MRI data from the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC). The data suggested that the brain was receiving less blood flow in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. A key component and goal of his research, Rivera-Rivera is using the data to help explain the distinctions between vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as analyze historical data on blood flow.
“Alzheimer’s is a complex disease, and we need the best and brightest working to find a cure,” Rivera-Rivera said. "With more than 5 million people living with this disease in the USA, it’s a social and public health problem for our world. There is a lot we still don’t understand about the disease, and it’s important we harness talent from different backgrounds and specialties to further the research.”
Designed to support researchers engaged in post-graduate work, Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant and Fellowship awards up to 3 years of funding for researchers working in different areas of research such as translational, clinical, and social-behavioral research.
Read more about Rivera-Rivera's work and his Alzheimer's Association grant project.
Read Rivera-Rivera's recent publication, "Intracranial vascular flow oscillations in Alzheimer’s disease from 4D flow MRI."
Story by Bashir Aden
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