Research Education Component

REVISED PROJECT SUMMARY- RESEARCH EDUCATION COMPONENT The Research Education Component (REC) will develop and implement a robust educational program to increase access to training for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) rising researchers and research workforce. The REC will be building on the University of New Mexico (UNM)’s strengths as the only Research University in New Mexico to advance innovative ADRD research education that is scientifically and culturally groundbreaking. Consistent with the overall theme of the New Mexico Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (NM ADRC), the REC will develop, upscale, deliver, and evaluate research educational activities to meet ADRD biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs, with a focus on research education on vascular and inflammatory contributions to Alzheimer's and cerebrovascular diseases in underrepresented groups in New Mexico. The REC’s long-term goal is to increase the capacity of the next generation of leading ADRD scientists to champion disruptive and transformative research that would meet the needs of patients and caregivers nationally, and in the Rocky Mountains region. The REC aims to: enhance ADRD research by training the next generation of ADRD scientific leaders (Aim 1); increase access to ADRD research careers by developing and implementing a plan for a dynamic pipeline (Aim 2); and create a dynamic educational environment that supports multi-disciplinary, science research skills of researchers and research workforce (Aim 3). Our plan is to provide mutually beneficial training opportunities to many trainees across different platforms. The REC is ideally poised to facilitate such interactions, providing communication, oversight, and coordination that can boost the interactive nature of our center. By applying principles of and culture-centeredness, we will broaden the scope and impact of ADRD research and prepare a new generation of ADRD researchers who will design and carry out disruptive, translational studies and bring their newly acquired skills to serve all patients. This ADRC will play an important role in solidifying a tailored infrastructure for basic and clinical ADRD scientific mentoring of promising trainees from local NM communities. In addition to the development of new leaders devoted to ADRD research to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment and eliminate health inequities in ADRD, the NM ADRC will contribute to the field by developing and disseminating novel research education training models, and in particular those focusing on understanding vascular and inflammatory contributions to Alzheimer's and cerebrovascular diseases, culture-centered mentoring, and engagement of research participants in research and clinical trials within the ADRC national network and beyond.