DURHAM – Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) will establish an Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) as part of a federally-funded national network, and the institutions have been awarded funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to do so.
The center will be one of 33 nationwide, and according to a statement issued jointly, “will focus on identifying age-related changes across the lifespan that impact the development, progression and experience of Alzheimer’s and related dementias.”
The center stems from a collaboration that the two universities began in 2019, and is based on research from an interdisciplinary team that includes experts in geriatrics, neurology, psychiatry, radiology, bioinformatics, and pathology.
This center will be distinctive due to a focus on adults ranging from 25 to 80 years old, as researchers seek signals of dementia before memory problems present in patients, according to a statement. “By identifying these biological processes, researchers may be able to develop tools for earlier diagnosis and determine new targets for treatments that prevent or delay onset,” the statement reads.
Dr. Heather Whitson, M.D., the co-principal investigator and a professor of medicine and the director of the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, said in a statement that the center will increase participation clinical trials among under-represented groups as well as people who are in early to middle adulthood.
“That’s where the scientific payoff is—to understand what’s going on early,” said Whitson.
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The other co-principal investigator is Dr. Gwenn A. Garden, M.D., Ph.D, a professor and the chair of the UNC Department of Neurology at the UNC School of Medicine.
“The reasons why dementia risk is higher among Black populations has not been well-studied,” said Garden in a statement. “Enrolling a diverse cohort that includes people with different lifestyles and racial backgrounds will help address risk in populations. This is important because we don’t know if current diagnostic approaches are as effective in populations that haven’t been well-studied.”
The center will be funded by the NIH, under NIH grant P30AG072958, according to a statement.
The funding will enable teams from both UNC and Duke University to engage local communities, said Whitson and Garden in a statement.
Part of the center’s role as a designated NIH ADRC will be sharing research with other ADRC’s throughout the country, with the goal of helping scientists and researchers learn more about dementia, and to do so faster than would otherwise be possible.
The National Institute on Aging, part of the NIH, established the ADRC network in 1984 to advance research in Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
“We are excited to move forward with this designation as an Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center,” Whitson said in a statement. “It will enhance our missions to engage with our community, to educate patients and families about dementia and options for top-notch care and research and to nurture and educate rising students and young investigators who also represent the diversity of our State and will become tomorrow’s leaders in our fight against Alzheimer’s disease.”
