Biomarker Core

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PROJECT SUMMARY – BIOMARKER CORE The Exploratory Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (VADRC) Biomarker Core will leverage Vanderbilt’s institutional strengths in proteomics, neuroimaging, and genetics to provide a scalable infrastructure that can support biomarker collection, storage, analysis, integration, and distribution. Under the leadership of Dr. Timothy Hohman, we have established Vanderbilt as the Genomics Core for the Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium, established the Biomarker Core for a multi-site cohort and autopsy study of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia correlates of delirium, led multiple large-scale discovery and candidate proteomic analyses emphasizing novel markers of risk and resilience to Alzheimer’s disease, and established the Resilience from Alzheimer’s Disease database, a local biomarker data repository that harmonizes fluid, neuroimaging, and genomic data across 10+ independent cohort studies. For the P20, we will leverage our local rich infrastructure and resources to acquire robust fluid, neuroimaging, and genetic biomarkers for the Clinical Core and affiliated cohort studies within the VADRC. The Biomarker Core and Clinical Core will work closely to ensure proper collection of relevant biomarkers using established, standardized protocols reflecting current best practices. Fluid, neuroimaging, and genetic data will be processed and stored within an established relational database, and the Biomarker Core will work to ensure proper storage and processing of all samples and data, with multiple quality control measures in place. Samples collected by the Clinical Core will be integrated by the Biomarker Core into funded, ongoing projects that support the VADRC’s thematic focus on establishing effective prevention and treatment strategies for non-amyloid pathways of injury that commonly co-occur with core Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Examples include discovery proteomic projects using mass-spectrometry, neuroimaging projects through the Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium, and genomics projects as part of the Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Consortium and Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project. All data will be harmonized with large-scale cohort studies, and the Biomarker Core will coordinate with the Administrative Core to distribute all biomarker data to support local and national research activities. The Biomarker Core will also promote educational activities in biospecimen collection, neuroimage processing, and genetics to promote standardized practices and facilitate novel training experiences for students, fellows, and faculty. The Biomarker Core is uniquely positioned to integrate proteomic, neuroimaging, and genomic data pipelines for the VADRC into well-established workflows from national consortia and ensure that the VADRC remains at the forefront of prevention, large-scale discovery, and therapeutic intervention of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.