Professor Stuart Lipton awarded $5 million to study the chemical biology of air pollution on the human brain The grant from the NIA/NIH will support research into how air pollution could lead to the development of Alzheimer's disease.
October 01, 2024
LA JOLLA, CA Stuart Lipton, MD, PhD, professor and Step Family Foundation Endowed Chair, and Tomohiro Nakamura, PhD, Institute Investigator in the Neurodegeneration New Medicines Center and Department of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research, have been awarded about $5 million from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to study the impacts of air pollution on the human brain specifically, how air pollution could contribute to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
The NIA grant will support research over a five-year period as he and his team investigate how pollution sources including vehicle exhaust, wildfires contribute to a chemical reaction discovered by Lipton referred to as SNO and how this impacts the development of Alzheimer's disease. NIA, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is focused on expanding our scientific understanding of the nature of aging, improving the health and well-being of older adults, and supporting and conducting research on aging and the challenges and needs of older adults.
The NIA's award shows not only how dedicated the organization is to improving human health, but its confidence that Scripps Research has the potential to make an enduring impact on these serious diseases, Lipton says.
SNO is a reaction that results from exposure to air pollution, which causes nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) atoms to combine with a sulfur (S) atom on a wide variety of proteins and disrupt their function, resulting in brain damage. This reaction, termed S-nitrosylation, has been observed to cause a SNO storm of reactions in Alzheimer's brain neurons by Lipton and his team. A recent paper from the Lipton group in the journal Science described many of the biochemical pathways affect by the aberrant SNO storm in the brain.
In collaboration with Scripps Research professor John Yates III, PhD, Lipton's research uses mass spectrometry to discover the proteins that undergo SNO reactions and potentially contribute to the development of Alzheimer's and other dementias. Identifying these SNO proteins is a critical step in developing new therapeutic targets for diseases, while potentially also helping inform strategies on controlling air pollution.
Climate change, caused by human actions affecting the composition of air in the atmosphere, has already had a critical impact on global health. It's vital that we continue to expand this body of research to inform strategies and new therapeutics that address human disease influenced by environmental factors, Lipton says.
Along these lines, the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) recently made a companion award for Lipton to study the chemical biology of air pollution in autism and intellectual disabilities.
At Scripps Research, Lipton's lab focuses on investigating molecular signaling pathways in order to prevent neuronal and synaptic injury that occurs as the human body ages, as well as in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other forms of dementia. His research into the drivers of Alzheimer's disease has already led to real-world results. Lipton is well-known for developing the FDA-approved drug memantine marketed commercially as Namenda , Namenda XR , and Namzaric represents one of only two medicines approved to treat moderate-to-severe forms of Alzheimer's. The drug is also used off-label for other forms of dementia, such as vascular dementia caused by multiple strokes and Lewy body dementia.
Neuroscience Molecular and Cellular Biology Lipton, Stuart
Most recent headlines
03/01/2026
A still from OBEX by Albert Birney, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance...
02/01/2026
Freezing Florida: NHL's EVP, Entertainment Bob Chesterman on Taking the Wint...
02/01/2026
NHL Winter Classic 2026: TNT Sports Prepares for First NHL Outdoor Game in Sunsh...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Any Given Day: Cork University Hospital premieres Wednesday 7 January on RT One and RT Player at 9:35pm
RT will debut a powerful new six-part documentary se...
02/01/2026
Friday 2 January 2026
All episodes of Heated Rivalry will be landing on Sky and...
02/01/2026
Sequins, chat shows, live sporting action, ground-breaking docuseries and brand-new Irish drama to kick off 2026
New Year, New Content Coming Soon across RT
...
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
Your live countdown to 2026 with Inhaler, David Gray, Lyra, Garron Noone, Sharon...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
RT has unveiled an exclusive first look at the new Dancing with the Stars promo...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
Professor Stuart Lipton awarded $5 million to study the chemical biology of air pollution on the human brain The grant from the NIA/NIH will support research into how air pollution could lead to the development of Alzheimer's disease.
