Research Education Component

Research Education Component Revised Abstract Paving the path to prevention and effective treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is a specific goal of the NIA and investigators who share this vision. The only chance of achieving this goal is to increase the number of gifted hands and minds who are passionate about the cause and who are committed to achieving this goal. Because of the breadth and expertise of its large, cohesive scientific community, UAB is uniquely positioned to aid the mission of the NIA in the Deep South through its support for training a broad group of future leaders engaged in investigating ADRD. The Research Education Component (REC) of the UAB Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) will leverage significant infrastructure already in place at UAB, including collaborations with The Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR), to achieve goals related to our focus on Deep South disparities in dementia. Clinical and basic science investigators often approach research questions on dementia and neurodegeneration from different perspectives. Clinical ADRD researchers often focus on studies that are more descriptive in nature that may not establish causality, whereas basic science investigators often focus on animal models or experimental paradigms that lack the perspective and complexity of dementia in “the real world”. The purpose of the UAB ADRC REC is to build research capacity on Deep South disparities in dementia by increasing the ADRD workforce through the mentoring of scholars with the necessary intellectual and technical competences to bring together basic science and clinical collaborations to improve the lives of dementia patients. We define REC scholars using two parallel pathways. The “REC Trainee” track includes graduate students and early postdocs, and the “REC Investigator” track includes late-stage postdocs and junior faculty. Support provided to each is different and specific to the needs of the two groups. Working with collaborative entities, including the Deep South RCMAR, recruitment of REC scholars will be multi-faceted, utilizing email distribution, social media, flyers on bulletin boards, announcements in university newspapers, campus e-news, and personal communications with department chairs and potential candidates. To track REC scholars’ achievements, the UAB ADRC will maintain a scholar tracking database that will provide an effective way to maintain increasing amounts of information in a secure and user-friendly data warehouse. We will track and maintain documentation of grant details, manuscript preparations/submissions, publication citations, presentations, career progress, and many other scholarly accomplishments. The impact of the REC on the UAB ADRC will be measured yearly, by the quality and impact of the research conducted by affiliated trainees and the overall potential impact their research has on society.