The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) will receive $15 million from the National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Aging (NIH-NIA) to advance research into Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. The money will help the center establish new areas of expertise, train the next generation of Alzheimer’s disease researchers, and develop tools and techniques to better identify the earliest stages of the disease. The grant will provide $3 million annually for five years.
“In the last decade, our center has become a national leader in developing and perfecting new brain imaging techniques, studying exercise and brain health, and identifying prevention strategies,” says Sanjay Asthana, MD, founding director of the Wisconsin ADRC and associate dean of gerontology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “This important funding will help our center build on this excellence by allowing us to expand our research into early diagnosis of the disease and identifying improved treatments for people living with the disease and their caregivers.”
Funding will support new research areas
The recent federal funding will allow the Wisconsin ADRC to establish three new focus areas within the center:
Biomarker research. Biomarkers, or early indicators of a disease, are the new frontier of Alzheimer’s disease research. Advanced brain imaging and spinal fluid samples offer a look inside a brain of a living person that was not possible a few years ago. These tools help scientists identify brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, track their rate of progression, and determine whether and when they may result in symptoms such as memory loss. The new Biomarker Research group will combine and expand the Wisconsin ADRC’s neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid collection programs under the direction of Sterling Johnson, PhD, professor of medicine (geriatrics) and an internationally recognized Alzheimer’s disease researcher.
Health care research. A new Health Care Research group that will conduct studies into improved patient care and reducing caregiver stress is the first of its kind among Alzheimer’s disease research programs in the United States. Under the leadership of Amy Kind, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine (geriatrics) and a national leader in the field of neighborhood disadvantage and health disparities research, the group will facilitate studies into improved health care models and ways to integrate these findings into hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and other caregiving institutions.
Researcher education. The Wisconsin ADRC created a new infrastructure to train the next generation of Alzheimer’s disease scientists. Barbara Bendlin, PhD, associate professor of medicine (geriatrics) and a distinguished Alzheimer’s disease researcher who has mentored more than 50 trainees and sat on more than 30 graduate thesis committees in her 10-year career at the University of Wisconsin, will lead the new educational efforts. The program will support training and education activities for learners at all levels, from high school through new professors.
“There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, and drug trials fail at an alarming rate. In order to stave off the devastation of this disease, I see this as an ‘all hands on deck’ situation for the scientific community. We need to attract smart, young minds to help us uncover the disease’s origins and pathways,” Asthana says. “The Wisconsin ADRC aims to establish itself as an internationally recognized destination for academic training of Alzheimer’s disease scientists and doctors. We want to find a cure for this disease.”
About the Wisconsin ADRC
The Wisconsin ADRC was established in 2009 with a grant from the NIH-NIA. It is one of about 30 such centers in the country, making it part of a national network of scientists working to find preventive factors, treatments, and ultimately a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. The center runs a longitudinal study of nearly 1,000 participants, many of whom undergo a series of memory and health tests, brain imaging, and spinal fluid collection every one or two years.
In addition to conducting its own longitudinal research study, the Wisconsin ADRC provides infrastructure for Alzheimer’s disease research at UW-Madison. The center supports dozens of scientists, researchers, and doctors across the UW-Madison campus. Over the last 10 years, the center has assisted with more than 200 research studies examining a variety of angles into Alzheimer’s disease science, ranging from the effect exercise has on brain health to testing fish oil as a possible prevention for Alzheimer’s disease. The Wisconsin ADRC is also home to the Wisconsin Brain Donor Program, a repository of biologic specimens collected after death for use in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research.
According to recent statistics, more than 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, 110,000 of them here in Wisconsin. Without effective prevention strategies and treatments, those numbers will more than double over the next 25 years as the percentage of older Americans continues to rise.
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