UC San Diego Secures Two $25-Million Grants to Study Menopause, Hormone Therapy and Alzheimers Risk

UC San Diego (UCSD) announced on Tuesday that it has secured two separate $25‑million research awards to investigate how menopause and hormone therapy influence dementia risk in women. The grants, part of a $50‑million investment from the Wellcome Leap CARE program and an anonymous donor, will fund projects that span the university’s School of Medicine, UC San Francisco (UCSF) and UC Santa Barbara (UCSB).

According to the university’s news release, the funding will support two projects led by Professor Judy Pa, a neuroscientist at UCSD School of Medicine, and Assistant Professor Iris Broce‑Diaz. Pa’s study will use existing data to compare women who used menopausal hormone therapy (HRT) with those who did not, tracking cognitive and brain health outcomes over time. Broce‑Diaz’s project will develop an artificial‑intelligence tool that integrates biomarkers, neuroimaging and other clinical data to predict which patients are at higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Women account for almost two‑thirds of all Alzheimer’s cases, yet the biological and social factors that contribute to this disparity remain poorly understood. The Wellcome Leap CARE program, a UK‑based nonprofit, aims to cut the lifetime risk of Alzheimer’s among women by half through large‑scale research initiatives.

The HRT study will build on recent 2024 follow‑up data from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a long‑running clinical trial that began in 1993. According to the WHI, the trial was halted in 2002 after findings indicated increased risks of breast cancer, blood clots, heart disease and stroke. However, the 2024 analyses showed no rise in breast‑cancer or cardiovascular deaths among participants and a lower overall mortality rate for women who started HRT under age 60 or within ten years of menopause.

The second grant, provided by an anonymous donor, will fund the Longitudinal Menopause Project, a collaboration between UCSD, UCSF and UCSB. The project will follow women aged 40 to 55 through the menopausal transition, collecting brain‑imaging data, wearable‑device metrics and cognitive assessments. The goal is to map changes in brain structure and function that accompany menopause and to identify early indicators of dementia risk.

Broce‑Diaz noted that primary‑care doctors often lack the resources to determine which patients are at greatest risk for Alzheimer’s. The AI tool aims to fill that gap by providing risk scores that can guide referrals for further evaluation.

UCSD’s research aligns with California’s broader focus on women’s health and neurodegenerative disease. The state’s public‑health agencies have highlighted the need for targeted research on Alzheimer’s, given the projected increase in cases as the population ages.

The Wellcome Leap CARE program’s $50‑million investment represents a significant contribution to U.S. research, complementing federal funding such as the National Institutes of Health’s $3.98‑billion Alzheimer’s budget for fiscal year 2026.

The grants will be distributed over the next three years. While the projects are still in the planning phase, the university has outlined a timeline that includes data collection, model development and preliminary analysis.

The research will be conducted under the oversight of UCSD’s Institutional Review Board and will adhere to California’s regulations on human subjects research.

As the projects progress, UCSD will share findings through peer‑reviewed publications and conferences. The university has indicated that it will collaborate with state health agencies to translate research outcomes into clinical practice.

In summary, UC San Diego’s new grants will enable comprehensive studies of menopause, hormone therapy and Alzheimer’s risk, with the potential to improve early detection and prevention strategies for women across California and beyond.