The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation is an American nonprofit organization that supports research into the causes and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The organization's mission is to "understand the causes of Alzheimer's disease, improve the care of people living with it, and find a cure." The Foundation is funded through donations from the public.
Zachary Fisher, a New York City businessman and philanthropist, created the organization in 1995 after his wife, Elizabeth Fisher, developed Alzheimer's disease. He teamed up with philanthropist David Rockefeller to establish the Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Center for Research on Alzheimer's Disease at The Rockefeller University. Since its founding, the Fisher Center Foundation has primarily supported the research conducted at the Fisher Center Laboratory, which until 2019 was under the direction of Nobel laureate Paul Greengard. The Foundation currently supports research programs at NYU Langone Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, and the in Paris, France.
The Foundation also publishes educational material for the public. Since 2007, the Foundation has published Preserving Your Memory, a subscription-based magazine featuring interviews with high-profile Alzheimer's patients and caregivers. It also provides free access to research news and resources through a biweekly newsletter, Alzheimer's Research News You Can Use.
History
When Elizabeth Fisher was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, her husband, New York City real estate developer and philanthropist Zachary Fisher, partnered with their friend David Rockefeller to start the Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Center for Research on Alzheimer's Disease at The Rockefeller University (the Fisher Center Lab) in New York City.
The neuroscientist Paul Greengard directed the Fisher Center Lab from its founding until his death in 2019.The lab was then led by interim laboratory head Marc Flajolet and advised by a Neuroscience Advisory Committee including Nobel laureates Torsten Wiesel, Michael W. Young, and other faculty members from The Rockefeller University. In 2022, the neuroscientist Nathaniel Heintz was appointed as new director of the Fisher Center Lab.
The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was founded by Zachary Fisher in 1995. The Foundation raises funds via contributions from the public to support the Fisher Center Lab and Alzheimer's research at other labs around the globe. The Fisher Center Foundation has been designated a four-star charity by Charity Navigator every year since 2010, and it has received a Gold Seal of Transparency from Candid GuideStar every year since 2018.
The longtime President and CEO of the Foundation was Kent Karosen, a New York City-based businessman and philanthropist. Karosen was also the co-author, along with Chana Stiefel, of Why Can't Grandma Remember My Name?, a children's book about Alzheimer's disease published by the Foundation in 2016. Karosen died in 2018. Since 2020, the Foundation has been led by the Executive Director Lucretia Holden.
Research The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation funds research on Alzheimer's disease and neurodegeneration at several institutions. Its research support has included neuroscience, genomics, artificial intelligence, translational research, drug discovery, clinical research, and studies of patient care.
The Rockefeller University The Foundation's longest-running partnership is with The Rockefeller University in New York City. Since its establishment, the Foundation has supported to the Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Center for Research on Alzheimer's Disease, commonly known as the Fisher Center Lab. Paul Greengard served as the laboratory's founding director until his death in 2019. Nathaniel Heintz was appointed director in 2022. Research at the Fisher Center Lab examines the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, including differences between neuronal populations that are vulnerable or resistant to disease.
In honor of Greengard's research in neuroscience and Alzheimer's disease, in 2017 The Rockefeller University also announced the establishment of the Paul Greengard Professorship with a gift from the Foundation.
In addition to the Fisher Center Lab, the Foundation has partnered with Rockefeller to create other research programs dedicated to the study of Alzheimer's disease and neurodegeneration. In 2021, Sidney Strickland was named as the inaugural Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Professor in Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Disease. Strickland's research examines the role of cerebrovascular dysfunction, blood coagulation, and inflammation in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Also in 2021, the Foundation created the Fisher Fellows in Neuroscience program at Rockefeller, which supports selected third- and fourth-year students in the David Rockefeller Graduate Program pursuing research in neuroscience.
In 2022, a Foundation grant established the Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Fund for Translational Research in Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Disease. The fund has supported projects intended to translate discoveries in basic science into potential approaches for the detection, prevention, and treatment of neurodegenerative disease. As part of this initiative, the university's High Throughput and Spectroscopy Resource Center became the Fisher Drug Discovery Resource Center, which provides scientists with resources for assay development, high-throughput screening, compound characterization, and other aspects of early-stage drug discovery.
In 2024, Junyue Cao was appointed as the inaugural Fisher Center Foundation Assistant Professor at The Rockefeller University. He was promoted to Fisher Center Foundation Associate Professor effective in 2026. Cao directs the Laboratory of Single-Cell Genomics and Population Dynamics, which develops genomic technologies to study cellular changes during aging and diseases including Alzheimer's disease.
Also in 2024, the Foundation supported the creation of the Fisher Artificial Intelligence Platform to Advance Research in Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases (Fisher AI Platform). Developed in collaboration with Rockefeller's Data Science Platform, the initiative provides computational infrastructure and machine-learning expertise for biological research at the university.
In 2026, Rockefeller neuroscientist Priya Rajasethupathy became head of the Fisher Center Targeted Therapies Initiative for Memory Loss in Alzheimer's Disease, also known as the Fisher Memory Initiative. The program studies the neural circuits and molecular mechanisms involved in memory, including interactions between the thalamus, hippocampus, and other brain regions involved in memory formation and retrieval.
NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Health The Foundation supports a number of Alzheimer's disease research and clinical programs at New York University.
The Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Alzheimer's Disease Education and Research Program at NYU Grossman School of Medicine funds research into the clinical progression and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and approaches to patient care. The program was created under the direction of neurologist Barry Reisberg, whose research included the development of a pioneering clinical staging system for Alzheimer's disease. It is currently co-directed by the neurologist Martin Sadowski and Sunnie Kenowsky.
Sadowski is also the inaugural Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Professor of Neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's Disease. His laboratory conducts translational research into mechanisms of neurodegeneration and potential Alzheimer's disease therapeutics, including research involving interactions between astrocytes and microglia.
The Foundation and NYU Langone Health also established the Fisher Center Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Program, directed by Sadowski. The program conducts investigator-initiated clinical studies of Alzheimer's disease treatments, including studies designed to examine treatment strategies and patient populations that may not be addressed in commercially sponsored trials.
Institut Imagine Since 2019, the Foundation has supported Alzheimer's disease research led by physician-scientist Olivier Hermine at the Institut des maladies génétiques Imagine (Imagine Institute) in Paris, France. Hermine's research investigates the role of mast cells, a type of immune cell, in Alzheimer's disease pathology and investigates mechanisms through which mast cells and other immune cells may contribute to neuroinflammation. The work has also examined the mechanisms of drugs targeting mast cells and microglia.
Additional Research In addition to its programs at The Rockefeller University, NYU Langone Health, and the Imagine Institute, the Foundation has provided support for research at other institutions in the United States and abroad.
In 2014, it awarded a grant to support research led by the neurologist Per Svenningsson at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. Svenningsson and his colleagues in the Department of Clinical Neuroscience studied molecular mechanisms involved in neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, and potential approaches to treatment.
In 2018, the Foundation supported research led by neuroimmunologist Michal Schwartz at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. The project investigated interactions between the immune system and the brain in Alzheimer's disease, including mechanisms through which immune cells might influence disease-related pathology.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation also provided funding for research led by the immunologist into the genetic and immunological factors associated with life-threatening COVID-19. Casanova's research identified inborn genetic errors and autoantibodies affecting type I interferon responses in some patients with severe disease.
Information Program
Preserving Your Memory Since 2007, the Foundation has published Preserving Your Memory, a triannual magazine available to subscribers which is also distributed to medical professionals nationally. The magazine is also made available for free on the Foundation website.
The magazine has interviewed the caregivers of high-profile individuals suffering from Alzheimer's, as well as written features about high-profile caregivers themselves. It also provides educational materials, updates on discoveries in neuroscience, and brainteaser puzzles.
References
External links
Preserving Your Memory magazine