At our recent SSMRF Annual Dinner, we were thrilled to announced the recipient of the inaugural Giuseppe Ferlaino Research Grant, Dr. Xiaotao Jiang, whose groundbreaking project will focus on characterising the gut microbiome and its metabolites, and their impact on dementia through mediating host plasma proteomics.
In his heartfelt thank you speech, Dr. Jiang shared:
“I am deeply honored to receive the Giuseppe Ferlaino Research Grant, and I extend my sincere gratitude to the SSMRF Foundation, the Ferlaino family, and everyone here tonight.
This grant was established in memory of the Ferlaino family Giuseppe Ferlaino was a beloved father, husband, and friend, and through this grant, his legacy now fuels research that may change the future of this disease.
Dementia remains one of the greatest medical challenges of our time, but new research is uncovering the powerful connection – the gut-brain axis. The project will explore how the gut microbiome influences Alzheimer’s dementia, using plasma proteomics to identify blood-based biomarkers that could link the gut microbiome and dementia development.
This research is about more than science – it’s about people. It’s about families like the Ferlainos and the millions worldwide who have watched loved ones fade away. Thanks to the Ferlaino family’s generosity, we are taking steps toward the new adventure for a microbiome-related solution for dementia.
To the Ferlaino family, your father’s memory lives on through this grant and the discoveries it will make possible. And to all of you here tonight, thank you for supporting this mission.”
Meet our other 2024 SSMRF Research Grant Recipient, Dr Joel Poder.
Read more in The Leader: Medical research grant winners, 17 April 2025.
