Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

The Mount Sinai Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (MSADRC) is building on more than 30 years of contributions to clinical and translational research in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). It is committed to serve its diverse community with major investments in cutting-edge science and technology in genetics and genomics, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, fluid and imaging biomarker technology, in addition to a comprehensive evidence-based clinical center to deliver the discoveries of research. We propose to build on our established strengths in genetics and genomics and the diverse cohort we serve by focusing on relationships among polygenic risk scores (PRS), fluid and imaging biomarkers, cognitive phenotype and neuropathological profiles associated with vulnerability or resistance to disease to uncover unique pathways to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of ADRD. This approach recognizes multiple etiologies, as we leverage PRS across ancestries allowing for inclusive science to facilitate discovery and its translation into direct benefits to people with dementia. The MSADRC, located at the Icahn School of Medicine and at the James J Peters Veterans Administration Medical Center, is composed of seven cores across Psychiatry, Neurology, Genetic and Genomic Sciences, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Neuropathology, Neuroscience, and Radiology with faculty collaborating to create a resource of data, samples, and expertise for broad sharing to maximize discovery. Through our Clinical Core, we will maintain and extend our ethnically and racially diverse cohort, highly representative of underserved communities. We comprehensively characterize them with clinical, cognitive and psychosocial evaluations and collect biological samples for DNA and plasma analyses. Our Fluid Biomarkers and Genomics Core will collect established biomarkers, share samples with NCRAD, develop novel biomarkers leveraging our expertise in proteomics, and generate GWAS and PRS scores. Our Imaging Biomarkers Core will characterize participants with multimodal imaging, shared with SCAN, using state-of-the- art technology to integrate molecular Aβ and tau imaging markers with neurodegeneration markers supporting characterization under the A/T/N framework as well as novel pathways. Our Clinical and Outreach Recruitment and Education Cores ensure that all participants are offered the opportunity of brain donation, and our Neuropathology Core will harvest, analyze and share donations with digital pathology while providing NACC with standardized data protocols. All data will be organized, coordinated and shared by the Data Management Core that also provides statistical and analytic support as well as access to new technologies including informatics. Our Research and Education Component will continue to train clinical and translational scientists who develop a research career in ADRD. The Administrative Core will use Developmental Awards to support novel biomarkers with speech and language collection, therapeutic development with expertise in clinical trials, and translation of discovery through dissemination to the community of clinicians, scientists, and patients and their families.