Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (VCID)

PROJECT SUMMARY Recent research advances support the significant role of vascular factors in neurodegeneration, cognitive decline, and dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRDs). These vascular contributions encompass issues that include small vessel disease, cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), and blood-brain barrier dysfunction. Conventionally, dementia resulting from vascular problems was labeled as vascular dementia, while AD was linked to neurodegeneration due to amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. However, recent data indicate that these conditions form a spectrum which includes mixed etiology dementias, where multiple brain pathologies coexist. Efforts to elucidate and understand the causal changes that underlie the vascular contributions to cognitive decline and dementia are being advanced by the use of genetic and biomarker studies in humans and model organisms, aided by implementation of new multi-omic technologies. However, despite the growing importance and relevance of this area of biomedical research, there is currently a lack of specialized conferences that address this topic and that provide a forum for sharing of advances and challenges – in particular one focused on training the next generation of scientists. To address this gap, we propose an intensive, trainee-focused, 4-day conference in 2025 at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) in Bar Harbor, ME. This conference, entitled "Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (VCID)", will leverage participation by a variety of NIH-funded consortia to bring together nearly 100 scientists, spanning career stages, from the fields of vascular biology, neurodegeneration, ADRD genetics, and computational biology, as well as provide a virtual attendance option for those that cannot or choose not to attend in person. This interdisciplinary event aims to foster data and model dissemination, networking, training, career development, and collaboration through seminars, workshops, discussions, and group activities. These objectives are facilitated by the residential nature of the JAX Highseas Conference Center. To achieve these objectives, we propose the following Specific Aims: Aim 1. Organize an interdisciplinary conference and interactive workshops on VCID. Aim 2. Promote interactions to foster collaborative research and career advancement. Aim 3. Foster the recruitment and development of diverse junior investigators in the VCID research field.