Summer Medical student Aging and Alzheimer disease Research Training (SMAART) program

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Summary/Abstract: Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) is a public health crisis compounded by the insufficient number of skilled clinicians and investigators with high quality training and expertise to provide care and conduct translational research. It is vital to foster a new generation of physician researchers that possess a diverse array of knowledge and skills, including understanding basic (genetics, molecular and cellular biology, neuroscience), patient level (clinical care, neuropsychology, fluid biomarkers, neuroimaging, epidemiology), and cross cutting (biostatistics, ethics) research design and methods. Thus our proposed SMAART T35 program will grow the pipeline of medical students with research experiences inspiring new physician scientists to focus their careers in the ADRD space. The low availability of skilled ADRD translational physician scientists represents a threat to the national ADRD research agenda. Therefore, in this T35 application we propose to engage MD students in hands on research, mentoring, publishing, career development and leadership. Through our leadership expertise in multidisciplinary translational ADRD research we aim to enhance the diversity and availability of physician scientists through these three specific aims: 1) Champion mentored career development by providing an integrated program that consists of outstanding leadership and oversight at all levels. 2) Create a flexible and innovative curriculum that emphasizes both core and advanced competencies in clinical, translational, and basic science 3) Maximizing access to Summer Mentoring and Research Training (SMAART) Program. Through formal check ins and ADRD themed journal clubs, trainees will receive guidance and support from the Program directors. The program will longitudinally track students through the four years of medical school encouraging continued engagement in research activities.