January 28, 2026, Akron, Ohio – The CJD Foundation has announced the recipients of ten new research grants and fellowships to break new ground in the battle against Prion Disease. To date, the CJD Foundation’s research grant program has awarded more than six million dollars in grants.

Prion diseases are a group of rare, neurodegenerative brain disorders that have no treatment or cure. CJD reportedly affects around 1 to 1.4 people per million per population per year. In the United States, this translates to approximately 600 new cases per year.
Applications for the 2025-26 CJD Foundation Research Grants were reviewed, rated, and ranked by the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee.

“Supporting the advancement of prion disease science is of paramount importance to the CJD Foundation and the families we serve,” says Debbie Yobs, President/Executive Director, CJD Foundation. “We are honored to provide funding to this outstanding group of 8 grantees and 2 fellows, and we are grateful to the donors who help us perpetuate and expand the research grant program each year.”

The 2026 Research and Fellowship Grant Recipients are:

• Dr. Adriano Aguzzi and Vangelis Bouris, MSc, University of Zurich: “Investigating the role of BLOC-1 complex in prion disease”
• Joaquín Castilla, PhD, Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Derio, Spain: “Early vs late intervention: PrP-lowering therapy stage-dependent outcomes in sCJD and GSS mouse models”
• David A. Harris, MD, PhD, Department of Biochemistry, Boston University/ Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine: “Using a Kuru-Protective PrP Mutation as a Novel Prion Therapy”
• Vanessa Laversenne, PhD, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: “Hypomorphic low PrP expressing mice as models for prion replication and native function”
• Prof. Neil A. Mabbott, The Roslin Institute & Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh: “Haematopoietic stem cell gene therapy as a novel therapeutic for CNS prion disease”
• Simon Mead, PhD, MRC Prion Unit and National Prion Clinic, University College London (UCL) Institute of Prion Diseases: “DNA Extraction for Global Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease”
• Daniel Ojeda-Juarez, PhD, University of California, San Diego: “Characterizing Early Synaptic Dysfunction in Human Prion Disease Using a Human iPSC-Derived Neuronal Model”
• Paulina Soto, PhD, Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston: “New strains, new risks: evaluating the host range and zoonotic potential of CWD prion strains”
• Thomas J. Trainer, PhD, Imperial College London (ICL): “The structural basis of prion-induced synaptotoxicity”
• Jingxin Wang, PhD, University of Chicago: “Development of RNA Splicing Modulators for the Treatment of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)”

More information about the 2026 grants and past awards is available at https://cjdfoundation.org/research-grant-recipients/.

This year’s grant recipients will present updates on their work at the 2027 CJD Foundation Family Conference. The 2025 CJD Foundation research grant recipients will present their work at this year’s Family Conference taking place in Chicago July 10-12, 2026.

CJD Foundation Research Grants and Fellowships are funded by donations to the CJD Foundation, fundraising through Strides for CJD, and Memorial Grants from families affected by prion disease. To learn more about Memorial Grants and Strides for CJD, contact us at Help@cjdfoundation.org or 800-659-1991.

About The CJD Foundation:
CJD Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting families affected by Prion Disease by raising awareness and supporting medical education and research. CJD is a rare brain disorder that falls within a group of illnesses called prion diseases. Though rare, CJD causes a rapid decline in an individual’s cognitive health and most often leads to death within only a few months to one year.