Research Education Component

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ABSTRACT – RESEARCH EDUCATION COMPONENT Effective research in Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD) requires interdisciplinary integration of knowledge and expertise across the translational spectrum. The goal of the MADRC Research Education Component (MADRC-REC) is to foster the emergence of a new and diverse generation of investigators with domain-specific expertise, multi-disciplinary knowledge of ADRD, and orientation towards interdisciplinary work. Utilizing the resources of our three universities and the MADRC Cores, the MADRC-REC developed a model inter-institutional enhanced mentoring program for early-career investigators who were entering ADRD research. To complement our regional mentoring program, the MADRC-REC developed an on-line curriculum to broadly educate early-career investigators about key aspects of ADRD. Over the last cycle, the very diverse MADRC-REC mentees made excellent career progress. The MADRC-REC curriculum is widely used. In the next cycle, the MADRC-REC will build on existing strengths to: 1) Recruit talented early-career investigators into ADRD research; 2) Enhance early-career investigator research skills; 3) Increase the diversity of the ADRD research community; 4) Provide practical training in important career skills; 5) Implement a certificate granting Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on the spectrum of ADRD research; and 6) Evaluate our teaching and mentoring activities. In the next cycle, the MADRC-REC will draw on the resources of the MADRC Cores, the large pool of eligible early-career investigators, exceptional number of capable mentors, and complementary career development resources of our three universities to expand our inter-institutional enhanced mentoring program. We will deepen our joint mentoring activities with other NIA sponsored programs such as the U-M Claude Pepper Older American Independence Center, the Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research, and the Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer’s Disease. The inter-institutional nature of the MADRC-REC program increases linkages and collaborations across the ADRD research community at our three universities, and enhances our mentoring of the next generation of ADRD-focused scientists and clinician-scientists.