黑料吃瓜资源 (CSHL) Assistant Professor Corina Amor Vegas has been named a recipient of the Pershing Square Foundation鈥檚 2026 Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery (MIND) Prize. This coveted prize is awarded annually to five to seven early-to-mid-career investigators who dare to challenge conventional thinking around neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and dementia, which affect millions worldwide.
As a recipient, Amor Vegas will receive $750,000 over three years. While most award winners are neuroscientists, Amor Vegas specializes in the body’s immune response. An expert in CAR T cell therapy, she has already shown how this new form of immunotherapy may be effective against a range of age-related conditions. She is now looking to develop a CAR T cell鈥揵ased strategy for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease.
鈥淐AR T cells have faced significant obstacles in their effective application to neurodegeneration,鈥� Amor Vegas says. 鈥淭he MIND Prize will allow us to pursue an innovative path to develop powerful, safe, and scalable cell therapies for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease.
鈥淚 think innovation comes from having the drive, courage and a bit of 鈥榬ecklessness鈥� to test that 鈥榗razy鈥� new idea, even when everyone says it will never work,鈥� she adds. 鈥淣inety-nine percent of the time it will fail, and that鈥檚 OK. You will still learn from it. But that one percent of success is all you need to truly make a difference.鈥�
With support from groups like the Pershing Square Foundation, that kind of courage just might lead to the next breakthrough in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease.
Written by: Gina DiPietro, Senior Public Relations Specialist | [email protected] | 516-367-6826