Core F: Research Education Component (RL5)

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Research Education Component Core (Core F) – Project Summary The Research Education Component (REC) Core will oversee the development and implementation of training programs for early-stage investigators that will focus on bridging the gap between preclinical and clinical development of therapeutic interventions to prevent, slow, and treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). We will leverage rich existing institutional resources, including the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, our Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), and Wake Forest Innovations (liaison with industry) to provide a solid, multi-disciplinary infrastructure to support a diverse training curriculum focused on translational AD neuroscience research, particularly with regard to the contributory role of metabolic and vascular risk factors and disease. We will draw from Wake Forest's extensive scientific community to identify mentors, and will recruit early-stage investigators and other trainees from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds through multiple Wake Forest Centers (e.g., ADCC, Sticht Center on Aging, Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, Hypertension and Vascular Research Center, Comparative Medicine/Primate Center), and through nearby affiliate academic institutions, including two Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) with whom we have established collaborative relationships. The REC Core will implement an innovative 18-month intensive and tailored training program for junior faculty that includes new translational research experiences and targeted mentoring to facilitate transitions from research silos toward highly collaborative and interdisciplinary science. The REC will also provide multiple other training opportunities for investigators at all levels of career development focused on early transitions from normal aging to MCI, and from MCI to AD and other forms of dementia using several platforms (e.g., symposiums, seminars, workshops, case conferences, journal clubs). These and other REC Core initiatives will be addressed with the following Specific Aims: 1) to expand the career focus of promising junior investigators faculty through a new multi-disciplinary Translational Science Mapping Program that will provide individualized and targeted mentoring, training, and new research experiences to support the development of combined competence in basic science and clinical research, with a focus on translational neuroscience; 2) to support research career advancement of junior investigators studying AD or a related topic by providing access to a multi-disciplinary curriculum of structured didactic training, which will also focus on strategies to develop successful national academic and industry collaborations; 3) to engage trainees from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds who are severely underrepresented in AD research; and 4) to evaluate and refine REC Core programs using established metrics of academic success.