University Times

Trustees of the Scaife Family Foundation and the Scaife Charitable Foundation have donated $10.8 million to support the construction of facilities for the University's planned Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (PIND) and to continue a related seed grant program supporting research activities prior to the construction.

The leadership grant, among the largest foundation grants ever received by the University, will be funded equally by the two foundations.

The objective of the new institute is to bring the best clinical and laboratory investigators together to develop new understandings, treatments and methods of prevention for a host of neurological diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) and stroke.

PIND will build on existing programs of research and treatment in the areas of neurodegenerative diseases and stroke, including the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, supported since 1985 by the National Institute on Aging, and the National Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence, established in 1997.

Michael J. Zigmond and Robert Y. Moore, directors of the National Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence, and Steven T. DeKosky, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, have been the leaders in developing the plans for PIND.

Zigmond noted that approximately one of every four Americans will ultimately suffer from one or more conditions involving the loss of nerve cells, such as Alzheimer's, and virtually everyone will be affected indirectly through the impact of such conditions on a family member.

"Normally, these conditions are treated in isolation," Zigmond said. "Yet the conditions have much in common, and a great deal can be gained by combining treatment facilities, integrating research labs and bringing clinical and research efforts in close proximity."

"The planned PIND will be a unique combination of clinical and research programs," DeKosky said. "The PIND will use an open lab concept designed to encourage collaboration among scientists researching the causes of, and cures for, these related diseases."

Moore added that the new facilities will improve quality and convenience of health care for patients who can be examined by a team of professionals in a single location.

"Given the complexity of these diseases, it is important that patients and concerned family members have access to comprehensive care and advice when they need it most. We anticipate that the PIND will become one of the region's most important health care resources, since these diseases affect young and old alike," Moore said.