Alzheimer's Germ Quest

Deadline: 2020-12-31
Award: $1,000,000
Open to: Research Scientists*

In 2014, Dr. Leslie Norins, a veteran medical publisher and former researcher in infectious diseases and immunology, became interested in what was known about the causation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). He undertook a two-year review of the scientific literature.

During that endeavor, he was impressed with the number of observations that seemed congruent with, or related to, phenomena and characteristics seen in infectious diseases. Was it possible that AD was actually an infection of an unusual type?

With Alzheimer's affecting over 44 million people worldwide the search for a cause has never been more important. Billions have been spent on research today, but what if the cause was as simple as a germ?

This Alzheimer’s Germ Quest challenge award of $1 million seeks to stimulate scientists to focus quickly and intensely on persuasively demonstrating a specific microbial cause of AD, using materials, techniques, and specimens they have at hand or which are easily available.