Training program in the biology and translational research on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

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ABSTRACT This T32 application seeks support for the multidisciplinary education of trainees in Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD). Neuroscience, including Basic Biology of molecular and cellular mechanisms of aging, epigenetics and gender, is the core of the ADRD training program (ADRD-TP). However, the program will include Drug Discovery and Development, Clinical and Translational Research including entrepreneurship, and Bioinformatics, Biophysics and Data Science. The mentor/preceptor team has outstanding expertise to establish this innovative, interdisciplinary training program, to integrate otherwise disparate centers of excellence at UIC and Rush, leveraged by industry collaborations. It will provide training in the emerging, multidisciplinary understanding of neurodegeneration and dementia, that trainees need to reinvigorate the search for treatments and cures. We will answer the imperative need for scientists who can synthesize across disciplines. Preceptor expertise is diverse; from molecular mechanisms of dementia, vascular biology, diabetes and inflammation, neuronal and neural imaging to clinical diagnosis of human ADRD patients and large scale data analysis. Expertise is from 11 departments (Anatomy and Cell Biology, Neurology, Psychiatry, Medicine, Pharmacology, Anesthesiology, Bioengineering, Computer science, Medicinal Chemistry, Chemistry, and Kinesiology) 5 colleges (Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Applied health sciences), 5 clinical and translational entities (The Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Rush, the Aging and Memory Clinic at UIC, the UIC tissue repository bank and the Center for Research on Health and Aging at UIC, the Center for Clinical Translation Science (CCTS) at UIC). We will train ADRD researchers with diverse backgrounds and cross-disciplinary skills, including neuroscientists, but also computational biologists, and engineers interested in translational ADRD research. To facilitate interdisciplinary training, trainees will have a primary preceptor and secondary mentor; the latter utilizing skills of associates from many disciplines. We will build individual development plans (IDPs) for each trainee and offer multidisciplinary coursework from ADRD-TP faculty but also pharma scientists. Importantly, trainees can perform translational research at 1 of 4 affiliated clinical and translational entities. Trainees will be encouraged to collaborate with large community-based NIH-supported studies (ROS/MAP or NIA's large-scale collaborative consortia, AMP-AD, M2OVE-AD, ADNI, ACTC), and with our industry partners, Eli Lilly and AbbVie. Trainees are encouraged to participate in workshops of the CCTS, the Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC) that is geared towards -omics and drug discovery and the CIM/MATTER entrepreneurial program that aids commercialization of scientific innovation. We seek to support 4 graduate students. With the trainee's mentors and utilizing IDPs, progress will be monitored throughout training, by individual thesis committees. In summary, the ADRD-TP will provide a rigorous, inspiring and nurturing environment to ensure training of the highest level of scientists needed to unravel dementia.