ALZHEIMER?S DISEASE RESEARCH CENTER

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Objective: To identify novel diagnostic tests and potential therapies for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease at a stage when patients have no clinical symptoms (preclinical stage). Sanjay Asthana, professor of geriatrics and gerontology, and director of the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), in May 2009 landed a five-year $6.9 million National Institutes on Aging grant to launch the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC). This new center will build upon the strengths of UW-Madison's remarkable neuroscience research to provide state-of-the-art resources, infrastructure, and expertise in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related illnesses. With the major focus on preclinical and early diagnosis and progression of AD, the center will expand the scientific objectives of the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention and significantly enhance care of Wisconsin residents suffering from the devastations of AD. The ADRC will be comprised of six cores: Administrative, Clinical, Data Management and Biostatistics, Neuropathology and Biomarkers, Education and Transfer and the Minority Recruitment Satellite Program. The center will build upon the highly successful UW research program in AD and several recent convergent developments: These include a new focus of the UW leadership on AD, substantial institutional and state financial commitment to AD research, presence of several renowned programs in neuroscience on the UW campus, outstanding UW clinical programs, an extensive statewide network of dementia diagnostic clinics, access to minority, low-income and rural populations through the Minority Recruitment Satellite Program (MRSP), acknowledged status of several UW investigators in AD research, and close collaborations between numerous UW centers and institutes in aging and neuroscience research. The involved centers and institutes include the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute, Institute on Aging, UW Waisman Center, UW Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, NIH/CTSA-funded Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR), Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, Biotechnology Center, Genome Center, Clinical and Translational Research Core (formerly known as the UW GCRC), and Madison Veterans Affairs (VA) Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC). Given the access to outstanding resources and expertise, the Wisconsin ADRC is well poised to make novel contributions to the field of AD research and provide outstanding clinical care to patients suffering from the devastations of the disease. The major focus of the Wisconsin ADRC is to identify novel diagnostic tests and potential therapies for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease at a stage when patients have no clinical symptoms (preclinical stage). Asthana's team anticipates that such therapies will help reduce the number of individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease.