The Rainwater Charitable Foundation, Aging Mind Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association, and CurePSP have awarded $2.5 million in grants to support research into primary tauopathies, including Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD), and Frontotemporal Dementias (FTDs). These awards come from the second annual Tauopathy Challenge Workshop, an initiative designed to accelerate innovative research into the mechanisms and therapeutic targets of these devastating neurodegenerative diseases.

Since its inception in 2023, the Tauopathy Challenge Workshop has awarded $4.5 million to fund mechanism-focused projects that aim to uncover new biomarkers and potential treatments for tau-driven disorders. This year, five international research teams have been selected to explore some of the most pressing questions in the field. Eleanor Drummond at the University of Sydney will investigate how protein aggregation beyond tau contributes to PSP, CBD, and Pick’s disease, mapping affected proteins in human brain tissue and testing whether tau drives their pathological aggregation. Leonard Petrucelli at Mayo Clinic will examine whether lysosomal protein TMEM106B fibrils worsen PSP symptoms, combining post-mortem analysis with neuron and mouse models to identify new mechanisms and therapeutic targets.

Editor’s note: “This story is particularly close to my heart. My mother, once sharp, witty, and full of life, was taken from us by a tau-driven neurodegenerative disease. Writing about the Tauopathy Challenge Workshop and the researchers striving to understand and treat conditions like Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is deeply personal.

It reminds me why advancing research into these devastating diseases is so urgent. While this piece focuses on groundbreaking science and funding initiatives, it is also a tribute to the patients, families, and caregivers facing these challenges every day.”

Vijay Rangachari at the University of Southern Mississippi will study interactions between tau and TDP-43 proteins, exploring whether these “hybrid amyloids” form uniquely toxic aggregates that disrupt neuronal function. Wilfried Rossoll, also at Mayo Clinic, will investigate how TDP-43 co-pathology influences tau aggregation and neurodegeneration in PSP and CBD using spatial proteomics and mechanistic studies in human and mouse brain tissue. Meanwhile, Mikael Simons at the Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) will focus on the role of non-neuronal cells, myelin damage, and lipoproteins in tau aggregation and propagation, aiming to uncover novel therapeutic targets.

Jeremy Smith, President of the Rainwater Charitable Foundation, highlighted the growing collaboration among funders to advance tauopathy research. “Our commitment remains steadfast in supporting primary tauopathy research,” he said. “The insights gained from these projects could have a significant impact on broader neurodegenerative disease research and bring us closer to effective treatments for patients.”

Applications for the 2026 Tauopathy Challenge Workshop are now open, with letters of intent due by September 2, 2025. The next session will focus on the structural and thermodynamic properties of tau and its interactions with other pathological proteins, with more than $2 million available to fund emerging research that could reshape the understanding and treatment of tau-driven neurodegenerative diseases.