— Grant Brings Tulsa-based Foundation’s Total Funding of Zenith Fellows Awards to $10 Million —

CHICAGO, April 10, 2024 — The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation has made its second $5 million grant to the Alzheimer’s Association to support the Zenith Fellows Awards. The contribution brings the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based foundation’s funding of the influential research program to $10 million.

“Thanks to the generous support of philanthropic partners like The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation and other members of the Alzheimer’s Association Zenith Society, we are proud to be the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s and other dementia research,” said Joanne Pike, DrPH, Alzheimer’s Association president and CEO.

Founded in 1991, Zenith Fellows Awards are among the most prestigious research grants in Alzheimer’s and other dementia science globally. The Alzheimer’s Association has awarded nearly $47 million to 149 Zenith Fellows worldwide, including 28 supported by The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation since 2015.

“We are pleased to double our gift from 2015 because of the incredible progress that has been made in Alzheimer’s research since that time,” said Bill Major, President of The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation. “We wanted to make an additional gift so that this great work can continue.”

Zenith Fellows have collectively generated more than 32,000 peer-reviewed publications and have earned more than $2.2 billion in follow-on funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and other organizations to continue and augment their research. Examples include:
 

• 2011 Zenith Fellow Randall Bateman, M.D., Washington University in St. Louis, pioneered a way to measure Alzheimer’s-related brain changes in blood. The accumulation of amyloid protein into “plaques” is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Bateman’s work was developed into commercially available blood tests that can help health care providers detect Alzheimer’s and inform decisions about care.
• 2020 Zenith Fellow Paul Thompson, Ph.D., University of Southern California, discovered 15 “hot spots” in the human genome that either speed up or slow down brain aging — a finding that could uncover new drug targets to treat Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain disorders. 
• 2021 Zenith Fellow Kaj Blennow, M.D., Ph.D., University of Gothenburg, Sweden, demonstrated that the blood biomarker p-tau 217 can be as accurate as spinal fluid tests in identifying key Alzheimer’s brain changes over time, even in people without symptoms.

“The Zenith Fellows Awards provide significant support for scientists who are advancing the most promising areas of dementia science, and whose track records demonstrate essential and long-lasting contributions to the field,” said Maria C. Carrillo, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer and medical affairs lead. “We are so very grateful to The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation for its visionary support of this important research grant program.”

Nearly 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, a number that is projected to rise to nearly 13 million by 2050. This devastating disease takes its toll not only on individuals and their families, but is estimated to cost the U.S. economy $360 billion this year. More than 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias.

Due to focused and ongoing investments in Alzheimer’s research, there are now two approved treatments that slow progression of the disease for people living with early Alzheimer’s disease, and a robust pipeline of experimental therapies.
 

About the Alzheimer’s Association

The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia®. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.

About The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation

The mission of The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation is to lift our neighbors out of poverty by supporting housing and shelter resources, social services and basic human needs, accessible health and mental healthcare, and programs that empower and inspire community members to improve their lives. https://zarrow.org/ahzf/