Brief Research In Aging and Interdisciplinary Neurosciences (BRAIN)

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Project summary The Department of Neurology at Columbia University Medical Center serves as a rich site for multidisciplinary neurological research, with particular focus on the aging nervous system and Alzheimer’s disease and Related Dementias (AD and ADRD). This proposal seeks to continue funding for positions for 20 preclinical students participating in the Brief Research in Aging and Interdisciplinary Neurosciences (BRAIN) program each summer. For the BRAIN program, we have developed a comprehensive approach to develop a formal research program for predoctoral students early in developing careers in biomedical, behavioral and clinical research. The work is collaboratively approached through brief but intensive mentored summer research training experiences for these students. The research training provides opportunities in basic, behavioral and clinical research through ongoing research in the fields of basic neuroscience, neuropathology, neurogenetics, neuropsychology, epidemiology, and clinical trials, with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease and Related Dementias, aging-related motor neuron disease, stroke, and epilepsy, as well as neurologic clinical trials treating patients with these disorders. Methods for inclusion of biological and cognitive markers of neurological disease progression, such as cerebral amyloid and tau, structural brain imaging, as well as assessment of memory, executive function, and other cognitive domains are embedded within the training curriculum. In addition, a comprehensive structured research education curriculum is delivered over the course of the intense research experience, with topics including good clinical practice, basic research methodologies, introductions to abstract authorship and poster presentations, and introduction of statistical concepts and approach to analyses, as well as epidemiologic and pathophysiologic reviews of the most common neurologic disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Our institution has the strongest track record of developing academic neurologists of anywhere worldwide, and this short-term, intense program builds upon this wealth of resources through hands-on introductions to neurological research, comprehensive review of principles of research, and thus assures the best opportunity for these students to develop research careers in the field of disorders of the aging nervous system including Alzheimer’s disease.