Core F: Biomarker Core

Biomarkers provide important information for early detection, differential diagnosis, and disease monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRDs), including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The newly established Biomarker Core of the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (BU ADRC) will be led by three clinician-scientists with experience in biomarker development and validation: Lee Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D. and Wendy Qiu, M.D., Ph.D., who will serve as co-leaders, and Ronald Killiany, Ph.D., who will lead the neuroimaging component. The Biomarker Core will leverage their expertise and existing institutional resources to focus on fluid biospecimen and neuroimaging biomarkers relevant to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD), including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The goal of the Biomarker Core is to collaborate with other cores and centralize biomarker initiatives to support the BU ADRC mission to improve early and accurate diagnosis, differentiation, and monitoring of AD and ADRDs, including CTE. The new Biomarker Core will bank, distribute, and analyze fluid biospecimens and neuroimaging data for shared use by investigators within and outside the BU ADRC and allied national consortia. We will focus on established biofluid and neuroimaging biomarkers (Amyloid-Tau-Neurodegeneration A/T/N NIA-AA Research Framework) with the goal of identifying differences between AD and ADRDs. The Core will also conduct discovery-based development of novel emerging biofluid and neuroimaging biomarkers to enable earlier and more accurate detection, differential diagnosis, staging, and tracking of AD and ADRDs across the disease spectrum. Four Specific Aims are proposed. Aim 1: Process, bank, and distribute fluid biospecimens and neuroimaging data. Aim 2: Measure and analyze established biomarkers (A/T/N NIA-AA Research Framework). Aim 3: Conduct discovery and development of emerging biomarkers, including analysis of blood-derived exosomes and multimodal computational strategies for neuroimaging data. Aim 4: Train next-generation AD biomarker and neuroimaging research leaders. We anticipate that the new Biomarker Core will strengthen BU ADRC research, promote sharing of fluid and neuroimaging biomarker resources, harmonize with efforts to advance national AD/ADRD initiatives, and provide new new insights and biometrics for personalized medicine approaches to diagnose, treat, and prevent AD and ADRD.