The pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease is suspected to be due to extracellular deposition of beta amyloid (AB) plaques and intraneuronal accumulation of fibrillary tangles within the central nervous system. Of the five therapeutics FDA approved for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, one was originally isolated from a natural product, and three are natural product mimics. While biologic targets involved in beta amyloid production have garnered much attention, targets involved in the metabolism of AB and therapies directed towards those targets have been less well studied. Therefore, we are developing a 96-well microglial phagocytosis assay to screen our extensive library of marine natural product pure compounds and fractionated extracts for small molecule modulators of AB uptake. In conjunction with the phagocytosis assay, we are optimizing an ELISA degradation assay to assess the potential for these compounds to enhance the AB degradative capacity of microglia. Candidate compounds arising from the two assays will then be used to probe their putative biologic targets in the microglia. Should potent, efficacious small molecule modulators of beta amyloid uptake or degradation be discovered, these results will provide precedent for pursuit of other small molecule modulators of AB metabolism. In addition, these results should validate novel pharmacologic targets for the treatment and possible prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.