Giridharan receives TARCC-Junior Investigator Award

Vijayasree V Giridharan, PhD, MPharm, assistant professor in the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has been awarded a two-year $299,998 grant from the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium (TARCC) – Junior Investigator Research Award.

The TARCC Award is part of a collaborative effort between 11 of the state’s leading medical research institutions aimed at advancing early diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. The TARCC – Junior Investigator Research Award is designed to fuel transformative and impactful projects that can lead to critical discoveries and advancements in the field of Alzheimer’s research.

Giridharan’s project aligns with these goals, as it aims to explore a novel pathway in Alzheimer’s disease. The research will address two key questions: What is the significance of innate lymphoid cells in Alzheimer’s disease pathology and how can these cells be manipulated to combat the disease?

By utilizing Alzheimer’s mouse models, Giridharan hopes to establish the crucial role that innate lymphoid cells play, potentially opening up new avenues for therapeutic interventions.

She is grateful for receiving the award.

“I have attended the TARCC Conference for the past few years, and I am thrilled to receive this honor,” Giridharan said. “I am confident that the outcomes of this research will make meaningful contributions to the scientific community. Moreover, the findings will provide strong preliminary data for future funding opportunities from larger sources.”