Cure Alzheimer's Fund

Research allocation is directed by the fund's scientific advisory board, chaired by Rudy Tanzi, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at MGH. Proposals are peer-reviewed by the board without the indirect-cost overhead typical of government grants.

No. The fund operates exclusively as a grant-making organization. All donor dollars are directed to academic researchers and nonprofit research institutions. The fund does not take equity or participate in commercial ventures.

Rudy Tanzi chairs the fund's Research Advisory Board, but grant decisions are made by a committee of scientists, not by Tanzi alone. The fund requires all board members — including Tanzi — to recuse themselves from votes on proposals they are affiliated with.

Cure Alzheimer's Fund targets high-risk, early-stage projects that traditional grant-makers often reject. It operates without the bureaucratic lag of federal agencies, funds at lower overhead, and can move from proposal to grant within weeks rather than months.

No publicly disclosed investment portfolio. The fund's model is to grant out essentially all money it raises in the year it is raised. It maintains a small operating reserve but does not function as an asset manager.