David Alsop, MD, PhD, Received a $9.1 Million Grant through the National “Sprint for Women’s Health”

David Alsop, MD, PhD, director of Basic MR Research in the Department of Radiology, in October 2024, received a $9.1 million grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) as part of the national “Sprint for Women’s Health” initiative. First Lady Jill Biden personally announced this significant funding award at an event in Las Vegas on October 23, 2024, marking a pivotal moment for our department, BIDMC, and the advancement of women’s health initiatives.

Dr. Alsop’s project aims to improve our ability to assess brain disorders in women through a novel, non-invasive MRI imaging biomarker. Although women face a higher prevalence of conditions like dementia, migraine, and MS, there are significant gaps in understanding how to prevent, detect, and treat them. The movement of molecules and inflammatory messengers in and out of the brain through the surrounding fluid may be key to these pathologies. By developing an MRI technology to measure the activity of a specific brain protein that drives this fluid transport, Dr. Alsop’s work will bridge these knowledge gaps, advancing both scientific understanding of and clinical care for women with brain disorders.

Over many years, Dr. Alsop has focused on the technical development of MRI imaging biomarkers, and he is credited with developing and/or advancing techniques such as arterial spin labeling to image tissue perfusion and inhomogeneous magnetization transfer/ihMT to image myelin.

The “Sprint for Women’s Health” initiative attracted 1,700 submissions from over 30 countries. Among the 23 awards granted, Dr. Alsop’s project stands out as one of the top-funded initiatives. This national recognition underscores not only his dedication but also positions BIDMC at the forefront of transformative women’s health research. The Department of Radiology’s commitment to innovative research empowers us to lead initiatives like this one, which has the potential to significantly improve millions of women’s lives.

Read the official White House announcement.