ABSTRACT - Administrative Core The Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) Administrative Core provides leadership, oversight, and infrastructure support for each of the Duke/UNC ADRC’s five Cores (Clinical; Neuropathology; Data Management and Statistical (DMS); Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement (ORE); and Biomarker Cores) and its Research Education Component (REC). The Administrative Core is responsible for cultivating and promoting “Center-ness” around the theme of identifying aging-related changes that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) across the lifespan. While our theme and cohort studies are focused on AD, the Administrative Core ensures that the Duke/UNC ADRC meets the needs of a broader community of researchers studying any aspect of AD or Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (ADRD). To this end, the Administrative Core conducts needs assessments, assists investigators interested in accessing ADRC expertise and resources, oversees the process of timely and compliant sharing of data and resources, and administers a Developmental Project program to stimulate and support innovative lines of ADRD research. To ensure regular assessment of the Cores’ and REC’s effectiveness and accessibility, and formal annual evaluation and subsequent response of the Duke/UNC ADRC, the Administrative Core monitors progress of all Cores/REC and engages an Internal Advisory Committee (IAC) of institutional leaders and leading ADRD scientists and an External Advisory Committee (EAC) of both scientific and lay members. The Administrative Core Specific Aims are to: 1) Provide coordination as well as scientific and administrative leadership and oversight to ensure operational efficiency, fiscal responsibility, and regulatory compliance; 2) Support and promote ADRD research across the region; 3) Solicit, select, administer, and monitor developmental projects (DP) from high-caliber, creative investigators; 4) Sustain and promote connection between the Duke/UNC ADRC and external stakeholders; 5) Assess and refine the Duke/UNC ADRC program through strategic planning and annual evaluation. A critical role of the Administrative Core is to lead the process of identifying, nurturing, and evaluating “pockets of opportunity” with an eye toward how such areas should be developed and operationalized, possibly as new Cores or ancillary studies, as the Center evolves.
ABSTRACT - Overall Before it kills, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) exacts a devastating toll on patients, families, caregivers, and communities. To meet this challenge, the Duke/University of North Carolina Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (Duke/UNC ADRC) provides the organizing infrastructure for AD-related research and services across the Research Triangle and Eastern North Carolina. Our objective is to catalyze research and innovations that will ultimately reduce the prevalence and impact of AD. In the last four years, this Center facilitated over $54M in new ADRD funding and produced over 130 publications. The Duke/UNC ADRC’s theme is identifying aging- related changes that contribute to AD across the lifespan. In support of this theme, our clinical cohort design and biomarker collection equips investigators with data and resources to discover new opportunities to intervene in the years before AD symptoms manifest. A related Center goal is to identify how factors that arise in early and mid-life contribute to disease risk, offering opportunities for personalized prevention and treatment. The Center provides infrastructure and resources aligned with the following specific aims: 1) Stimulate and support research on ADRD for investigators from many fields by providing access to well-characterized subjects, curated data and biospecimens from individuals across a wide age-spectrum, with emphasis on pre-clinical and early disease; 2) Attract and prepare a new generation of creative, well-trained investigators to conduct high caliber research on ADRD; 3) Improve all lives impacted by aging-related cognitive decline and increase the reach of those we engage in this research through local, regional, and national collaborations. The Center’s Cores (Clinical, Biomarker, Neuropathology, Data Management and Statistical (DMS), Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement (ORE), Administrative) and Research Education Component (REC) work collectively to pursue these aims, aided by our team’s decades of dementia outreach across North Carolina, strong existing ties in urban and rural communities, and institutional resources and experts in many disciplines relevant to brain health. The Center’s Clinical, Biomarker, and Neuropathology Cores, in conjunction with the ORE Core collect images, biospecimens, and fluids from 420 well-characterized participants (ages 45-80) who are followed annually. The DMS Core supports data curation and analysis by providing integrated data management and statistical/bioinformatics collaborative expertise. The REC attracts and trains a robust and inter-disciplinary pipeline of future leaders in ADRD research through an innovative combination of widely disseminated curricular elements and more personalized mentoring experiences. The REC’s educational platforms extend to additional Universities in our catchment area. The ADRC’s Cores and the REC, supported by the Administrative Core and national partners (e.g., NACC, NCRAD, SCAN), work in a coordinated manner to generate and store data and resources from people with and without dementia or AD risk, share data and expertise as widely as possible, and ultimately contribute back to the AD community through dissemination of results, education, and health services.
ABSTRACT - Research Education Component The primary objective of the Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) Research Education Component (REC) is to develop future leaders in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) research, including within the Center’s theme of identifying aging-related changes that contribute to AD across the lifespan. Key challenges to developing a strong ADRD research workforce include limited training in the principles of ADRD research within the basic sciences and many medical sub-specialties, lack of early-career exposure to ADRD research at many institutions, research silos that impede knowledge transfer between basic and clinical investigators, and limited penetration of implementation science into the field. To overcome these challenges, the REC will cast a wide net to broadly engage early-career investigators across seven North Carolina universities and a range of training levels, providing a foundational curriculum that sparks interest and grows knowledge in ADRD research (Aim 1). In addition to delivering broad, cross-campus ADRD research education, the REC will solicit applications and annually select “REC Scholars” from a talented pool of early-career researchers, supporting them with tailored research mentorship and career support. The REC will further emphasize early engagement by selecting “Associate REC Scholars” from the undergraduate ranks and supporting their biomedical careers with ADRD-focused research mentorship (Aim 2). To equip an ADRD research workforce with the skills needed to translate discoveries into real-world impacts, the REC will provide consultation and training in the conduct of dementia-focused population health science research and implementation science research, and encourage inter-disciplinary collaborations by continuing our extremely popular annual conference, the Symposium for Learning about Alzheimer’s disease-related Medical research at Duke and UNC (SLAM-DUNC) (Aim 3). Although distinct from other training programs at Duke and UNC, REC offerings will complement and synergize with existing training assets on the campuses (e.g., Duke’s CARING STARR Program, the UNC MSTAR program, and the Duke Pepper Center). Deep integration with other Duke/UNC ADRC Cores will augment research training opportunities in biobanking, statistical analysis, study design, patient recruitment, and clinical care. By fostering ADRD research interest and cultivating multidisciplinary expertise among early-career investigators, the REC will identify and nurture the next generation of leaders in ADRD research and accelerate ADRD research and translation, ultimately growing a workforce that can bring new treatments to the clinic and new preventive measures to the population.
