MODEL-AD

The MODEL-AD (Model Organism Development and Evaluation for Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease) consortium is a group of researchers focused on rigorous generation and characterization of fifty new mouse models of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a debilitating illness with no known disease-modifying therapy. Furthermore, 99.3% of phase III clinical trials have failed for AD drug discovery.

The goal of the MODEL-AD consortium is to improve target discovery and validation efforts in AD by creating a community resource of mouse models that closely reflect the sporadic late-onset human form of AD. The group has focused on human AD genetics and systems biology resources such as Accelerating Medicine Partnership for AD (AMP-AD), AD Sequencing Project (ADSP), and AD Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) to prioritize specific variants to introduce into the mice to capture different aspects of the disease. All data – including ‘omics, imaging, and drug treatment –  generated on the mouse models are actively distributed to the AD research community and public via the AD Knowledge Portal.