DPRIT passage set to accelerate university’s dementia research
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Earlier this month, voters took a huge step toward improving the lives of more than 460,000 Texans living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias with the passage of Proposition 14, which created a constitutional amendment to fund the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT).
“Once again, Texas voters have chosen to make a transformative investment in translational and public health research,” said Kevin Morano, PhD, senior vice president of Academic and Faculty Affairs and the Roger J. Bulger, MD, Distinguished Professor at UTHealth Houston. “What CPRIT has done for prominence in cancer research and prevention for Texans and the nation, DPRIT will do for neurodegenerative disease.”
In May, the 89th Texas Legislature established DPRIT with Senate Bill 5 to accelerate innovation in dementia research. However, to fund the initiative, it needed approval by Texas voters.
The bipartisan-approved bill was one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s top legislative priorities. It was authored in the Senate by Sen. Joan Huffman, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, and sponsored in the House by Rep. Tom Craddick, the former speaker. Supporting the bill were Rep. Senfronia Thompson, who had championed for a brain research institute in previous sessions; Rep. Greg Bonnen, MD, the House Appropriations Committee chair and a practicing neurosurgeon; and others.
“After hearing countless stories of Texans whose lives were shattered by this silent killer, I felt it was time to create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to bring world-class dementia researchers to our state,” Patrick said. “Texas, with our vast resources, has an opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of millions. DPRIT is structured like the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, which has been a resounding success in bringing the best cancer researchers and doctors to Texas."
The new constitutional amendment, which passed by a margin of 2-to-1, will authorize DPRIT to distribute $3 billion in allocated funds over 10 years to improve dementia-related research, prevention, treatment, and care. The money will come from existing state resources, not new taxes or bonds.
“After many hard-fought sessions, I’m delighted that the legislation has finally passed, and more importantly, that Texans overwhelmingly passed Prop 14 to fund DPRIT,” Rep. Thompson said. “Texas ranks second in the number of Alzheimer’s deaths in the country, and our aging population is growing faster than the national average. DPRIT gives us a coordinated strategy to tackle this dreaded disease head-on. It also ensures Texas attracts and retains the best researchers to unlock the mysteries of Alzheimer’s and dementia. But most of all — it gives those who are impacted with the disease a better quality of life and hope for the future.”
About DPRIT
DPRIT will put Texas at the forefront of Alzheimer’s and dementia prevention and prepare the state to lead the nation in Alzheimer’s research. Modeled after CPRIT, DPRIT — which performed better at the polls than CPRIT — will fund high-impact dementia research, similar to how CPRIT supports cancer studies.
"This is an exciting time for researchers that are now obtaining new tools like AI, advanced genomics, and imagining breakthroughs that will allow them, with DPRIT’s investment, to make discoveries to unlock the causes, prevention, and treatments for dementia-related diseases,” Bonnen said. “DPRIT will have the opportunity to invest in research into the root causes of dementia, including MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) issues with the food supply and nutrition, impact of the gut microbiome, the role of inflammation, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which is an abnormal protein that is present in 80% of Alzheimer’s disease patients."
DPRIT’s goals
- Accelerate innovation in dementia and related disorder research.
- Drive medical and scientific breakthroughs by attracting top investigators, expanding institutional research capacity, and advancing discoveries from bench to bedside.
- Support studies focused on the causes, treatments, and prevention of dementia.
“These diseases touch nearly every family in our state, leaving lasting impacts on loved ones and communities alike,” Craddick said. “Much like the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas, DPRIT will invest in groundbreaking research unlike any other state in the nation.”
Eric Boerwinkle, PhD, dean of UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, M. David Low Chair in Public Health, and Kozmetsky Family Chair in Human Genetics, echoed Craddick’s sentiments, emphasizing the transformative potential of DPRIT to advance the fight against dementia.
“The creation of DPRIT will undoubtedly accelerate groundbreaking dementia research, contributing to the discovery of new interventions, expanding our understanding of the disease, and creating pathways toward a future without dementia,”
How UTHealth Houston may benefit from DPRIT
UTHealth Houston is in a strong position to compete for major research grants from the new institute.
“With DPRIT funding, we will not only expand our current research but also recruit the talented team needed to pioneer tomorrow’s breakthroughs in dementia prevention and treatment,” said Louise McCullough, MD, PhD, professor and chair in the Department of Neurology and the Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Distinguished Chair at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “Preventive strategies are vital because early intervention can significantly alter the trajectory of neurodegenerative diseases, reducing long-term disability and associated health care costs.”
UTHealth Houston dementia-related research
Research across UTHealth Houston stands to benefit from the passage of Proposition 14, including the following initiatives.
BRAINS Lab
At McGovern Medical School, the Brain Research in Alzheimer’s, Inflammation, Neurodegeneration, and Stroke (BRAINS) Lab explores how vascular injury, inflammation, and metabolic disorders contribute to Alzheimer’s and dementia. Research that could benefit from the passage of DPRIT includes:
- Disease mechanisms: Teams are uncovering how inflammation, stroke, and traumatic brain injury accelerate Alzheimer’s pathology, with special attention to vascular risks such as hypertension, obesity, and diabetes.
- Cerebral amyloid angiopathy: Aki Urayama, PhD, professor of neurology at the medical school, leads research on how amyloid buildup in brain vessels causes hemorrhagic stroke and how Alzheimer’s antibody drugs like lecanemab, which can reduce amyloid buildup, may also lead to brain swelling and microhemorrhages. The team is developing mouse models improve drug safety.
- Sex differences: With women comprising two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients, these studies explore hormonal, genetic, and molecular differences driving disease progression and treatment response, emphasizing the need for personalized therapies.
- Social isolation: Research links loneliness to inflammation, brain dysfunction, and higher Alzheimer’s risk, using both animal models and tools such as the UCLA Loneliness Scale to measure biological impact.
- Stroke and breathing: Juneyoung Lee, PhD, professor of neurology at the medical school, is revealing how stroke disrupts respiratory function, triggering brainstem scarring and accelerating dementia. Ongoing grants support investigation into the intersection of stroke, inflammation, and breathing in Alzheimer’s progression.
National Alzheimer’s data infrastructure
McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston is building a comprehensive national Alzheimer’s data infrastructure initiative that could benefit all dementia-related research. The initiative could see additional financial support thanks to DPRIT.
The $27 million national Alzheimer’s data harmonization initiative is called ReCARDO, short for “Using Real-World Data to Derive Common Data Elements for Alzheimer’s Disease and AD-Related Dementias Research Through Ontological Innovation.” It will integrate large-scale clinical, genomic, imaging, and behavioral data on Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
By establishing a centralized data core lab at UTHealth Houston, the project aims to accelerate discovery, improve clinical translation, and foster nationwide collaboration. It will enable investigators to identify early markers, test interventions, and better understand the complex mechanisms driving Alzheimer’s.
“As the contact PI for the $27 million national Alzheimer’s data harmonization initiative ReCARDO, I am extremely excited for the passage of Proposition 14 to establish DPRIT. There are fundamental synergistic interplays between DPRIT and the ReCARDO national Alzheimer’s data harmonization initiative,” said GQ Zhang, PhD, vice president and chief data scientist at UTHealth Houston and a professor and Distinguished Chair in Digital Innovation at McGovern Medical School. “The data science and AI resources generated from ReCARDO will be immediately made available for DPRIT-funded projects. In return, DPRIT-generated data can be included in the ReCARDO data ecosystem, further enriching its scope and depth for dementia research.”
Principal investigators of the grant are Zhang; Hongfang Liu, PhD, vice president of learning health systems at UTHealth Houston and a professor and D. Bradley McWilliams Chair at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics; and Licong Cui, PhD, associate professor at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics.
“The passage of Proposition 14 to fund DPRIT presents a bold and forward-looking commitment by the state of Texas to accelerate research to improve the brain health of all Texans,” Liu said. “As we work to build a unified national Alzheimer’s data ecosystem through ReCARDO, Texas’ investment positions our state as a critical partner providing advanced infrastructure, innovative analytic capabilities, and real-world evidence that will drive breakthroughs in understanding, treating, and ultimately preventing dementia.
“DPRIT will not only strengthen research capacity across Texas but also amplify our contributions to national efforts aimed at improving outcomes for patients, families, and communities through advanced data science, informatics, and AI innovations.”
