A 21CBT Innovations Award ($50,000), by the 21st Century BrainTrust™, was offered in Round Two of the 2013 Geoffrey Beene Global NeuroDiscovery Challenge on sex-based differences in Alzheimer’s disease, in support of the WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s Network. Four finalists in this global online research competition were named in Round One.

The Challenge exceeded expectations in terms of both scientific interest and global outreach with 65 participating countries and final submissions from 23 countries.

Crowdvoting by the scientific community and citizen scientists worldwide determined Round Two winners of $50,000 21CBT Innovation Award. Learn more…

Spotlight on Research

The 21st Century BrainTrust™ (21CBT) mission is to stimulate a three-way connection between a new generation of technology innovation, the scientific community, and an engaged public to advance brain health and prevention trials. The scientific community has only begun to understand initial, pre-symptomatic disease progression and potential therapeutic options.

21CBT focuses on this relatively new field of research.

The Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative led the formation of the 21st Century BrainTrust™ in 2012 with three other non-profits – BrightFocus® Foundation, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, and scientific partner Cleveland Clinic/Lou Ruvo Brain Institute.

The coalition was named the winner of a $100,000 developmental prize as part of the Sanofi US Partners in Patient Health Collaborate | Activate Innovation Challenge. The team was selected for the prize from among nearly 300 proposals submitted to the Challenge.

BrightFocus® Foundation

BrightFocus® Foundation is a nonprofit organization supporting research and providing public education to help eradicate brain and eye diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. We are working to save mind and sight. BrightFocus® is at the forefront of brain and eye health, advancing early-stage, investigator-initiated research around the world.

Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health

Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health provides diagnosis and ongoing treatment for patients with cognitive disorders and support services for family members who care for them. Collaborative research partnerships help to advance Cleveland Clinic’s groundbreaking clinical trials and offer hope for improving brain health.

The Geoffrey Beene Gives Back® Alzheimer’s Initiative

The Geoffrey Beene Gives Back® Alzheimer’s Initiative is a catalytic donor philanthropy that promotes innovation in early diagnosis and AD prevention. Funded by the Geoffrey Beene Foundation since 2008, the Geoffrey Beene Gives Back® Alzheimer’s Initiative is a marquis sponsor of HBO’s The Alzheimer’s Project.

USAgainstAlzheimer’s Network

USAgainstAlzheimer’s Network is a leader in marshaling political will toward combating Alzheimer’s. One of only 12 non-governmental members of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act Advisory Council, USAgainstAlzheimer’s is also co-convener of the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease, and Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer’s Disease (LEAD), a coalition of 40 organizations from the government, business and civic sectors.

21CBT Scientific Advisory Board

• Moses Chao
  Professor Cell Biology, NYU School of Medicine, Chairman, Society of Neuroscience
• Deepak Chopra
  Founder, The Chopra Foundation
• Jeffrey Cummings
  Director of Cleveland Clinic/Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health
• William Haseltine
  Founder  Human Genome Sciences
• Bradley Hyman
  Director, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Harvard Medical School
• Philip Low
  Chief Executive Officer, NeuroVigil
• Mark Murko
  Founder, Disruptive Biomedical LLC
• Alan Russell
  Director of the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine; Editor-n-Chief, Disruptive Science and Technology
• Jerre Stead
  Chief Executive Officer, HIS
• Rudi Tanzi
  Professor, Harvard/MGH and Principal, Alzheimer’s Whole Genome Sequencing Cure Alzheimer’s Fund
• Eric Topol
  Vice Chairman, West Wireless Health Institute
• Michael Weiner
  Principal Investigator Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)
• Pascale Witz
  CEO, GE Medical Diagnostics

2013 Geoffrey Beene Global NeuroDiscovery Challenge Judging Panel

• Marietta Anthony, PhD
  Consultant in Women’s Health Research
• Howard Fillit, MD
  Founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer, Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
• Freda Lewis-­Hall, MD
  Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Pfizer
• Florence Haseltine, MD, PhD
  IT Consultant, Founder, Society for Women’s Health Research
• Lenore Launer, PhD
  Chief of the Neuroepidemiology Section, NIA
• Michelle Mielke, PhD
  Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Mayo Clinic
• Peter Rabins, MD, MPH
  Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Alan Russell, PhD
  Founding Director of the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Carnegie Mellon University
• Janine Clayton, MD
  Director of Women’s Health, NIH (ex-officio capacity)