U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller believes a cure for Alzheimer's disease could be found in his lifetime.

And he wouldn't be surprised if scientists at a Morgantown research institute named after his mother played a significant role in that discovery.

A new $30 million research facility - the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute - is expected to open Friday.

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Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008 - A new $30 million Alzheimer's disease research facility opened in Morgantown this week.

Rockefeller's mother, who died in 1992, was afflicted with Alzheimer's. Rockefeller and his sister decided to establish a place where the "best and brightest" minds could carry out Alzheimer's research.

"I want the hungriest young scientists," Rockefeller told the Gazette earlier this week. "This is where they can make their mark. It's the hunger and ambition that I want."

Rockefeller said colleagues initially suggested he establish the Alzheimer's institute near a major urban teaching hospital, such as Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. The West Virginia Democrat insisted the facility - the only independent nonprofit research center in the world - be headquartered in West Virginia.

"We're a perfect laboratory because we're an older state," Rockefeller said.

The Neurosciences Institute has actually been open for nine years, but scientists have been working out of smaller laboratories at WVU in Morgantown and in Rockville, Md.

The center's employees now will move into the new $30 million facility beside West Virginia University's massive health sciences complex.

The researchers already have made groundbreaking discoveries related to Alzheimer's and memory disorders.

Last year, for instance, scientists found that a drug developed to treat cancer - Bryostatin - may improve and restore memory among people with Alzheimer's, or stroke and brain injuries. Researchers found that the cancer drug essentially rewires the brain.

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller believes a cure for Alzheimer's disease could be found in his lifetime.

And he wouldn't be surprised if scientists at a Morgantown research institute named after his mother played a significant role in that discovery.

A new $30 million research facility - the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute - is expected to open Friday.

The three-story, 78,00-square-foot building will house nearly a hundred scientists and researchers dedicated to identifying the causes of Alzheimer's - as well as other memory disorders - and treating the disease.

Rockefeller's mother, who died in 1992, was afflicted with Alzheimer's. Rockefeller and his sister decided to establish a place where the "best and brightest" minds could carry out Alzheimer's research.

"I want the hungriest young scientists," Rockefeller told the Gazette earlier this week. "This is where they can make their mark. It's the hunger and ambition that I want."

Rockefeller said colleagues initially suggested he establish the Alzheimer's institute near a major urban teaching hospital, such as Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. The West Virginia Democrat insisted the facility - the only independent nonprofit research center in the world - be headquartered in West Virginia.

"We're a perfect laboratory because we're an older state," Rockefeller said.

The Neurosciences Institute has actually been open for nine years, but scientists have been working out of smaller laboratories at WVU in Morgantown and in Rockville, Md.

The center's employees now will move into the new $30 million facility beside West Virginia University's massive health sciences complex.

The researchers already have made groundbreaking discoveries related to Alzheimer's and memory disorders.

Last year, for instance, scientists found that a drug developed to treat cancer - Bryostatin - may improve and restore memory among people with Alzheimer's, or stroke and brain injuries. Researchers found that the cancer drug essentially rewires the brain.

In September, researchers at the institute published a study that shows the same cancer drug - administered 24 hours or sooner after a stroke - can rescue and repair brain tissue. Existing stroke treatment drugs must be administered within three hours and don't repair damaged brain tissue.

Federal and state funding paid for the $30 million building.

 WVU will contribute $7.5 million to the institute during the next 10 years. The university also is paying the center's operational and maintenance expenses - estimated to be about $500,000 a year. The institute will lease the building from WVU at minimal cost - $10 a year.

Today, the Neurosciences Institute - also known as BRNI - is hosting an international forum on memory and memory disorders. Nine scientists are expected to speak.

The speakers include Dr. Rudi Tanzi, director of Harvard University Medical School's Genetics and Aging Unit.

In 1976, Tanzi - a Rhode Island high school student at the time - attended the National Youth Science Camp in Dinsmore, just a few miles from the estate Rockefeller owns in Pocahontas County. Tanzi is now considered a pioneer in the field of genetics. He has published groundbreaking studies on the principal causes of Alzheimer's.

"We put pressure on ourselves by having these brilliant people come here," Rockefeller said. "It puts pressure on us to produce and do well. You want to keep this up."

About 4.5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. The number is expected to increase to 16 million by 2050.

The Neurosciences Institute seeks to move the center's Alzheimer's research out of the laboratory and into the hands of doctors and patients.

"If you solve it, you don't just solve it for 4.5 million Americans," Rockefeller said. "You solve it for the whole world."

Reach Eric Eyre at erice...@wvgazette.com or 348-4869.