Cure Alzheimer's Fund

What Cure Alzheimer's Fund does

Cure Alzheimer's Fund (operating as a DBA for the Alzheimer's Disease Research Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity) is a U.S.-based nonprofit research funding organization founded in 2004 by Jeff Morby, Jacqui Morby, Henry McCance, and Phyllis Rappaport. The founders applied venture-capital and corporate-startup experience to build an organization designed exclusively to accelerate Alzheimer's disease research with the goal of preventing, slowing, or reversing the disease. The organization operates with a distinctive pass-through model: the Board of Directors, Trustees, and a core group of donors fund all overhead, enabling 100% of general donations to flow directly to research.

The foundation's research portfolio is organized around seven active cross-institutional consortia, each targeting a specific biological mechanism: the Alzheimer's Disease Tau Consortium, Fleming APOE Consortium, Brain Entry & Exit Consortium, Microbiome Consortium, Neuroimmune Consortium, Brain Aging Consortium (launched 2025), and Sleep & Circadian Rhythms Consortium. A standalone Research Grant Program funds individual projects typically ranging from $100,000 to $300,000, and the foundation maintains a proprietary platform called "Alzheimer's in a Dish," a 3D cell culture system that replicates Alzheimer's pathology for drug testing. Since inception the organization has deployed $275,191,911 across 1,141 grants to leading researchers globally, with key outputs including the plasma eMTBR-tau243 blood-based biomarker published in Nature Medicine and recognized through the Jeffrey L. Morby Prize established in 2024.

The business model is pure philanthropy — no products or services are sold. Revenue derives from individual donors, foundation grants (e.g., $185,000 cumulative from the Greater Toledo Community Foundation since 2016), corporate partners, planned giving, and more recently cryptocurrency donations. The foundation serves two principal constituencies: Alzheimer's researchers and scientists who receive grants, and philanthropic donors who fund the program. Leadership includes CEO Meg Smith, Director of Grants Management Kaela Singleton, and Executive Vice President of Research Management Natasha Hussain, with founders continuing to participate through board governance.

Name

Cure Alzheimer's Fund

Legal name

Alzheimer's Disease Research Foundation

Website

https://curealz.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cure Alzheimer's Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds Alzheimer's disease research through venture-style grants and seven themed cross-institutional consortia. Founded in 2004, it has deployed over $275 million across 1,141 grants to leading researchers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alzheimer's Disease Research Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Alzheimer's disease research
• Nonprofit research funding
• Scientific grant programs
• Biomedical research consortia
• Neurodegenerative disease philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellesley Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic donations: Cure Alzheimer’s Fund is a nonprofit organization that operates entirely on donations. Their Board of Directors, Trustees, and core donors fund overhead expenses so that 100% of general donations go to the research program.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cure Alzheimer's Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds scientific research aimed at preventing, slowing, or reversing Alzheimer's disease. It channels philanthropic donations into research grants and multi-institutional consortia focused on tau biology, APOE, brain aging, microbiome, neuroimmune response, brain barrier systems, and sleep/circadian rhythms. The Board of Directors, Trustees, and core donors cover overhead so 100% of general donations go to the research program.

Product overview

Cure Alzheimer's Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to funding research with the highest probability of preventing, slowing, or reversing Alzheimer's disease. The organization operates through a portfolio of research consortia focused on specific biological mechanisms: the Alzheimer's Disease Tau Consortium, Fleming APOE Consortium, Brain Aging Consortium, Microbiome Consortium, Neuroimmune Consortium, Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Consortium, and Brain Entry and Exit Consortium. Additionally, the organization awards the annual Jeffrey L. Morby Prize for exceptional research breakthroughs and funds individual research projects through its grant program covering foundational, translational, drug discovery, and preclinical/clinical development research areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Grant Program A funding program providing grants to leading scientists researching Alzheimer's disease, with individual project grants typically ranging from $100,000 to $300,000 and focus areas including genetic risk factors, biomarkers, APP and Abeta studies, tau studies, APOE studies, immune response studies, drug discovery, and preclinical/clinical drug development.
• Alzheimer's Disease Tau Consortium An international, cross-institutional consortium of investigators including Marc Diamond (UT Southwestern), Karen Duff (UCL, Consortium Chair), Bradley Hyman (Massachusetts General Hospital), Katherine Sadleir & Robert Vassar (Northwestern University), and Henrik Zetterberg & Gunnar Brinkmalm (University of Gothenburg) investigating tau biology in Alzheimer's disease.
• Fleming APOE Consortium A consortium of six elite scientists including Randall Bateman, Guojun Bu (Mayo Clinic Jacksonville), Oleg Butovsky (Brigham and Women's Hospital), David Holtzman (Washington University, Consortium Leader), Jean-Pierre Roussarie (Boston University), and Cheryl Wellington (University of British Columbia) conducting interrelated investigations into the multi-faceted impact of APOE on Alzheimer's disease.
• Brain Entry and Exit Consortium A consortium of 13 researchers from Yale, Massachusetts General Hospital, UC San Diego, Helmholtz Munich, MIT, Boston Children's Hospital, Minho University, University of Rochester, NIH, Weill Cornell, and Stony Brook studying how the brain's barrier systems regulate what enters and exits the brain and how impairments contribute to Alzheimer's pathologies.
• Microbiome Consortium A consortium of nine researchers including Laura M. Cox (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Chair), John P. Haran, David Holtzman, Rob Knight, Beth A. McCormick, Sangram S. Sisodia, Rudy Tanzi, and Robert Vassar investigating how the gut microbiome impacts Alzheimer's disease progression.
• Neuroimmune Consortium A consortium of five researchers including Beth Stevens (Boston Children's Hospital, Chair), Mathew Blurton-Jones, Christopher Glass, Shane Liddelow, and Martine Therrien studying how neuroinflammation and the brain's immune cells contribute to Alzheimer's disease.
• Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Consortium A consortium of seven researchers including Erin M. Gibson, Mary Harrington, Yo-El Ju, Eng Lo, Shannon L. Macauley, Cameron McAlpine, and Erik S. Musiek (Chair) studying relationships between sleep, circadian rhythms, and Alzheimer's disease.
• Brain Aging Consortium A consortium launched in 2025 uniting six world-renowned Alzheimer's researchers including Randall J. Bateman (Chair), Henne Holstege, Miranda Orr, Li-Huei Tsai, Tony Wyss-Coray, and Andrew S. Yoo to investigate how aging influences Alzheimer's disease and identify resilience factors for maintaining cognitive health.
• Jeffrey L. Morby Prize for Exceptional Research An annual prize established in 2024 honoring breakthrough research that advances fundamental understanding of Alzheimer's disease and opens new pathways for prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. The prize is $100,000 and has been awarded in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $275 million funded to date across 1,141 grants
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Brain Aging Consortium (6 researchers)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Transformative research initiative launched in 2025 uniting six world-renowned Alzheimer’s researchers: Randall J. Bateman (Washington University School of Medicine, Chair), Henne Holstege (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience, Belgium), Miranda Orr (Washington University School of Medicine), Li-Huei Tsai (MIT and Broad Institute), Tony Wyss-Coray (Stanford University), and Andrew S. Yoo (Washington University School of Medicine). The consortium investigates how aging influences Alzheimer’s disease and aims to understand resilience factors for maintaining cognitive health.
• Alzheimer’s Disease Tau Consortium researcherscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational consortium of investigators including Marc Diamond (UT Southwestern), Karen Duff (UCL, Consortium Chair), Bradley Hyman (Massachusetts General Hospital), Katherine Sadleir & Robert Vassar (Northwestern University), and Henrik Zetterberg & Gunnar Brinkmalm (University of Gothenburg, Sweden) studying tau biology in Alzheimer’s disease.
• Fleming APOE Consortium researcherscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSix elite scientists including Randall Bateman (Washington University), Guojun Bu (Mayo Clinic Jacksonville), Oleg Butovsky (Brigham and Women’s Hospital), David Holtzman (Washington University, Consortium Leader), Jean-Pierre Roussarie (Boston University), and Cheryl Wellington (University of British Columbia) investigating APOE gene’s role in Alzheimer’s disease.
• Brain Entry & Exit Consortium researcherscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium including Helene Benveniste (Yale), Se Hoon Choi & Fanny Herisson & Jonathan Kipnis (Massachusetts General Hospital), Richard Daneman (UC San Diego), Ali Ertürk (Helmholtz Munich), Ming Guo & Roger Kamm (MIT), Maria Lehtinen (Boston Children’s Hospital), Fernanda Marques (Minho University), Maiken Nedergaard (University of Rochester), Daniel Reich (NIH), Laura Santambrogio (Weill Cornell), and Allen Tannenbaum (Stony Brook) studying brain barrier systems and waste clearance.
• Microbiome Consortium researcherscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium including Laura M. Cox (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Chair), John P. Haran (UMass Chan Medical School), David Holtzman (Washington University), Rob Knight (UC San Diego), Beth A. McCormick (UMass Chan Medical School), Sangram S. Sisodia (University of Chicago), Rudy Tanzi & Nanda Kumar Navalpur Shanmugam (MGH/Harvard), and Robert Vassar (Northwestern) investigating gut microbiome’s role in Alzheimer’s disease.
• Neuroimmune Consortium researcherscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium including Beth Stevens (Boston Children’s Hospital, Chair), Mathew Blurton-Jones (UC Irvine), Christopher Glass (UC San Diego), Shane Liddelow (NYU Langone), and Martine Therrien (UC Davis) studying neuroinflammation and immune responses in Alzheimer’s disease.
• Sleep & Circadian Rhythms Consortium researcherscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium including Erin M. Gibson (Stanford), Mary Harrington (Smith College), Yo-El Ju (Washington University), Eng Lo (Harvard/MGH), Shannon L. Macauley (University of Kentucky), Cameron McAlpine (Mount Sinai), and Erik S. Musiek (Washington University, Chair) studying relationships between sleep, circadian rhythms, and Alzheimer’s disease.
• UT Health San Antonio researcherminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA researcher at UT Health San Antonio received a $402,500 grant to study how microglia may contribute to the spread of toxic tau protein in Alzheimer’s disease over two years.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation: Also a focused nonprofit grantmaker funding Alzheimer's drug discovery and translational research, with a similar VC-influenced operating model and high-risk, high-reward grant philosophy. Directly comparable mission, donor base, and grant-mechanism design.
• BrightFocus Foundation: Funds Alzheimer's disease (as well as macular degeneration and glaucoma) research through grants to investigators. Comparable single-/multi-disease nonprofit research grantmaker targeting similar donor and researcher populations.
• The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research: Disease-specific nonprofit research grantmaker operating a similarly aggressive, venture-style funding model with high-throughput grant programs. Closely comparable in operating philosophy and donor-engagement approach, though focused on Parkinson's rather than Alzheimer's.
• American Federation for Aging Research: Nonprofit that funds biomedical research on aging and age-related diseases, including Alzheimer's. Overlaps with Cure Alzheimer's newly launched Brain Aging Consortium, sharing donor and investigator ecosystems.

Broad incumbents

• Alzheimer's Association: The largest US Alzheimer's nonprofit, combining research funding with advocacy, care, and public health programs. Operates at materially greater scale, broader scope, and competes for the same donor mindshare and corporate partnerships.
• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: Large private foundation that funds medical research (including neuroscience) among other priorities. Broader portfolio and scale than Cure Alzheimer's, but competes for similar high-net-worth donors interested in medical research impact.
• Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group: Philanthropy that funds high-risk, high-reward bioscience research (Allen Institute). Similar VC-style 'bold bets' philosophy and willingness to fund unconventional Alzheimer's-adjacent neuroscience work.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute: Large biomedical research organization supporting investigator-driven science. Operates at vastly larger scale and is a benchmark for the 'fund people, not projects' model that Cure Alzheimer's consortia approximate.

Emerging players

• Dana Foundation: Philanthropy that funds brain science and neuroscience research, including neurodegenerative disease. Smaller-scale, more research-education focused, but overlapping investigator networks.

Others

• National Institute on Aging (NIH): Largest single public funder of Alzheimer's research. Cure Alzheimer's consortium outputs and biomarker discoveries often complement or extend NIA-funded programs; partially overlapping applicant pool of investigators.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CureAlzheimers
• Facebookfacebook.com/CureAlzheimers

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Cure Alzheimer's Fund