Core F: Research Education Component (RL5)

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – Research Education Component There are substantial gaps in our knowledge of how to improve timely diagnosis and support of older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and their family caregivers, particularly those from racially/ethnically diverse populations. This translates into a public health imperative for research to understand and ultimately prevent cognitive decline in an increasingly diverse older population and the best strategies to deliver effective services to older adults with cognitive impairment and to support their family caregivers. The Research Education Component (REC) supports the mission of the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center by continuing to develop resources and expanding the research education opportunities of junior investigators, with an emphasis on recruiting individuals from historically underrepresented groups. There is a strong need for new, creative, and diverse junior investigators to address the diversity and complexity of cognitive impairment in diverse populations. Towards this end, the goals of the REC are to (1) Outreach, recruit and select a cadre of junior investigators from diverse personal and professional backgrounds who will conduct Alzheimer's disease-related research; (2) Develop and support a tailored mentoring and training plan for diverse junior investigators in the area of Alzheimer's disease, with a particular focus on strengthening and diversifying the research workforce; and (3) Monitor and evaluate research education progress of trainees. The UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center has an extensive mentoring and research education record that includes graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty with interests in Alzheimer's disease- related research. We will continue to build on this infrastructure with REC leaders – Dr. Ladson Hinton and Dr. Oanh Meyer, as well as the Training Oversight Committee. REC will leverage existing resources and expertise from two NIH-funded centers here at UC Davis – the Latino Aging Research Resource Center (UC Davis Resource Center for Minority Aging Research) and the Clinical and Translational Science Center to contribute to the research education of future leaders in Alzheimer's disease-related research. REC also will capitalize on the rich diversity of UC Davis and connect with programs such as the Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science to ensure recruitment of underrepresented groups. The interdisciplinary expertise of REC program faculty and affiliates will ensure the recruitment of diverse and promising trainees.