Research Education Component

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ABSTRACT - Research Education Component The primary goal of the Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) Research Education Component (REC) is to develop future leaders in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (AD+ADRD) research, including within the Center’s theme of identifying age-related changes across the lifespan that mediate the development, progression and experience of AD. There are unique challenges facing AD+ADRD research, including limited training in researchprinciples, a lack of early-career exposure to AD+ADRD research, and research silos that impede knowledge transfer between basic and clinical investigators. To overcome these challenges, the REC research training program will broadly disseminate a foundational AD+ADRD research curriculum spanning both basic and clinical research, delivered to five universities across North Carolina and made available to the public (Aim 1). In addition to delivering broad cross-campus AD+ADRD research education, the REC will solicit “REC Scholar” applications and select 2-4 scholars annually from a diverse pool of talented early-career AD+ADRD investigators (Aim 2). REC Scholars will receive intensive research training and tailored professional development under the guidance of a faculty mentorship team comprised of a clinical researcher and a basic scientist. The REC will expand the reach of its training program by leveraging existing training assets at Duke and UNC (e.g., Duke’s “Creating AD Researchers for the Next Generation” STARR Program (R38), UNC’s “Summer Research Training in Aging for Medical Students” (T35) and Duke’s Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center and Edward R. Roybal Center). The REC’s close integration with the other Duke/UNC ADRC cores provides synergistic interactions with key research training opportunities in specimen biobanking, statistical analysis, study design, pathologic sample analysis, patient recruitment, and research dissemination. The REC will diversify AD+ADRD researcher perspectives and the workforce by partnering with UNC Pembroke (a designated historically American Indian university), NC Central University (an historically black university), and East Carolina University (an institution with expertise in rural healthcare delivery) (Aim 3). Investigators and trainees at these institutions will participate in monthly research colloquia, the online curriculum, monthly journal clubs, research consultancies that leverage Duke/UNC expertise to augment AD+ADRD research at other sites, and the annual Symposium for Learning about Alzheimer’s disease-related Medical research at Duke and UNC (SLAM-DUNC), hosted by each institution in turn. REC programming will foster interest in AD+ADRD research and cultivate the multidisciplinary expertise needed in its next generation of leaders. By fostering interactions among investigators from different disciplines and backgrounds through the REC’s innovative and inclusive programming, the REC will develop new AD+ADRD researchers prepared to engage in interdisciplinary collaborations aimed at improving health outcomes and reducing disparities by bringing novel treatments to the clinic and novel preventive measures to the population.