Northwestern Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

The Northwestern ADRC is in its 25th year. This renewal application describes the progress of the past cycle and a plan of action for the next 5 years, during which we will pursue the following principal goals: 1) Support innovative research at Northwestern University on the biology, early diagnosis, risk factors, and treatment of dementias by bringing together basic and clinical investigators. 2) Participate in national collaborations that leverage the strengths of the NIA Centers by using the UDS-3 and FTLD Module and transmitting data to NACC, and participating in ADNI, ADCS, NCRAD, LOAD, ADGC, and FTLD-related consortia. 3) Serve a leadership role in FTLD neuropathology, primary progressive aphasia (PPA), dementias associated with TDP-43 pathology, mid-life onset AD (MOAD), microglia and neuroinflammation, and unusually successful brain aging (SuperAging) in keeping with the unique strengths of the Northwestern ADRC in this area of aging and dementia research. 4) Train fellows and junior faculty and attract new investigators to dementia research through accredited clinical fellowships, Development Project awards, and training grants. 5) Ensure that patients, families, and underserved populations are beneficiaries of relevant advances through education, outreach, and novel life enrichment programs. The cores of the ADRC are configured to serve the specific goals listed above. The Administrative Core will be responsible for the clinical, scientific and fiscal leadership of the entire ADRC, as well as the coordination with national consortia and the selection of Development Projects. The Clinical Core will maintain a cohort of well-characterized subjects recruited to address ongoing research priorities. The Data Management and Statistics Core will ensure that the data are stored in ways that maximize collaboration and that biostatistical consultation plays a key role in the design and interpretation of research. The Neuropathology Core will characterize patients who come to autopsy according to up-to-date criteria, and distribute tissue, slides, DNA, and data for local and national collaborations. The Outreach, Recruitment and Engagement Core will work with the Clinical Core to enhance participant recruitment and retention in the ADRC, and will develop innovative life enrichment programs to serve patients and their families. The Research Education Component will oversee diversity recruitment for researchers and junior faculty and coordinate training requirements for the Responsible Conduct of Research. The Imaging Biomarker Core will perform up-to-date multimodal neuroimaging of Clinical Core participants, including amyloid and tau PET. The Executive Committee, composed of all key personnel, will formulate ADRC priorities based on local and national mandates and will review requests for patients, controls, tissue, and data.