Research Enterprise

NIA’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers broaden and advance dementia research nationwide

NIA-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) are a cornerstone of Alzheimer’s and related dementias research in the U.S. In the more than 30 years since the ADRC program was initiated, it has expanded to 33 centers covering diverse urban and rural populations across the country.

ADRCs have been at the forefront of several major advances in Alzheimer’s and related dementias research, including helping to:

• Develop a biological framework for Alzheimer’s that defined the disease signatures, which has enabled researchers to better study and understand the disease
• Identify and describe the Alzheimer’s-like LATE disorder (limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy), which is responsible for many of the cases of dementia previously assumed to be Alzheimer’s

ADRC scientists openly share data, biological samples, and other resources to support patients and their caregivers. ADRCs help broaden research and education opportunities for underrepresented communities, including African Americans, Native Americans, and people who live in rural areas.

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New research models help scientists better understand dementias

NIH-funded research continues to create and improve upon innovative research systems for studying dementia, such as:

• “Disease-in-a-dish” models for Alzheimer’s created from blood or skin cells donated by research participants with Alzheimer’s. Scientists turned these cells into stem cells and then into neurons that mimic the disease, allowing researchers to study the biology of the disease and find potential treatments.
• “Mini-brain” research models of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Scientists used the same technology as above to create neurons from the skin cells of people with an FTD gene variant. The scientists assembled the neurons into mini-brain models, enabling them to discover the sequence of events that cause brain cells to die.
• A new approach to making patient–derived neurons for studying Alzheimer’s. Unlike the previous approaches, scientists converted donated skin cells from patients directly into neurons. Since these new brain cells (called induced neurons) skip the stem cell stage, they retain many of the cell changes seen with aging.
• A new rhesus macaque model of Alzheimer’s that could be more useful for finding new treatments. By introducing an abnormal form of the human tau protein into the brains of macaques, researchers were able to mirror the changes seen in people who have Alzheimer’s.
• A new mouse model that produces a form of the human beta-amyloid protein, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. These mice show similar changes in gene expression and cognitive impairment as people with the disease do. The model will help scientists explore genetic, environmental, and behavioral aspects of Alzheimer’s and test potential treatments.

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NIH’s new intramural dementia research center is accelerating a broad range of scientific discovery

CARD supports the largest-ever genome engineering project for human induced pluripotent stem cells.

NIH established the Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias (CARD) in 2020 to initiate, accelerate, and support research to improve the prevention and treatment of dementias. In 2021, CARD researchers announced a strategy to study more than 100 genetic variants linked to dementias . Led by NIA and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), CARD brings together researchers from NIH and other government agencies, academia, and industry, with an emphasis on innovation and collaboration across various fields of dementia research. In 2022, CARD laboratories were relocated to the new Roy Blunt Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research building on the NIH main campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

CARD supports the largest-ever genome engineering project for human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), known as the iPSC Neurodegenerative Disease Initiative (iNDI). Recently the iNDI project launched a new online portal for scientists to access a catalog of neurodegenerative disease human iPSC lines . The portal is a powerful research catalyst and contains more than 100 variants associated with Alzheimer’s and related dementias across 73 genes.

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Data sharing is key to advancing dementia research

NIH champions transparency and accessibility in research and continues to modernize and expand its data-sharing tools, resources, and policies. Through its continued support of the AD Knowledge Portal , NIH facilitates resource sharing among scientists worldwide with the goal of accelerating and diversifying Alzheimer’s and related dementias drug discovery. The portal houses data and analysis tools assembled through the NIA Alzheimer’s Disease Translational Research Program, and hosts the following:

• The Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Program for Alzheimer’s Disease (AMP® AD) , a public-private partnership focused on accelerating the development of new diagnostic and treatment options.
• The Model Organism Development & Evaluation for Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease (MODEL-AD) , a consortium through which scientists are developing new animal models for Alzheimer’s based on human data.
• The TaRget Enablement to Accelerate Therapy Development for AD (TREAT-AD) Consortium , focused on speeding up and diversifying the Alzheimer’s and related dementias drug development pipeline.
• Agora , a portal that provides researchers with access to data on whether a specific gene is linked to Alzheimer’s and related dementias, as well as information on more than 600 potential drug targets for these diseases.

As of May 2022, the AD Knowledge Portal housed data from eight NIA-supported programs, which have a total of 57 individual projects contributed by 430 researchers from 82 research institutions. The data from the portal are being widely used by global researchers from academia and industry, leading to numerous new findings on Alzheimer’s and related dementias and on brain aging in general, such as how certain types of blood lipids play a role in influencing Alzheimer’s risk . Findings from these and other studies have been published in more than 1,400 articles , demonstrating the portal’s role as a vital resource for advancing discoveries.

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NIH standardizes sample and data collection to drive collaborative dementia research

Consistency in sample and data collection is vital for the continued success of collaborative dementia research. In 2021, NIH funded new research to establish and use uniform participant selection and data collection methods across multiple sites, including:

• The Study to Uncover Pathways to Exceptional Cognitive Resilience in Aging (SUPERAging) , which establishes networks of researchers to collect data on older adults with superior cognitive performance.
• The Resilience/Resistance to Alzheimer’s Disease in Centenarians and Offspring (RADCO) study, which examines the genetic factors that protect people from developing symptoms of dementia even at advanced ages.

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Biobanking provides crucial resources to dementia researchers

The National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD ) is one of the largest biorepositories in the field and an NIA-supported resource that enables scientists to access data and more than 1 million biological samples for dementia research. NCRAD currently includes samples from more than 92,000 participants and 45 NIA-funded studies. NCRAD supports state-of-the-art genome and genotyping arrays for samples in several new studies. It provides researchers with materials, protocols, and training to standardize sample collection.

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NIA’s small business funding bolsters Alzheimer’s and related dementias research

Through its Small Business Research Program , NIA provides grants to small businesses for the development of new ways to prevent, detect, or treat Alzheimer’s and related dementias. These funds support innovative early-stage research and development for products, interventions, tools, and technology that can be made commercially available.

In 2021, NIA published a paper highlighting the impact of its small business funding . To date, NIA has invested $280 million and issued more than 600 grants to support more than 230 small businesses. Companies receiving these grants have developed medical alert systems that detect falls, blood tests to help diagnose Alzheimer’s, and a promising Alzheimer’s drug that is currently undergoing clinical trials.

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NIH initiatives help strengthen the dementia research workforce

NIH recognizes that a vibrant, diverse workforce of scientists and clinicians plays a vital role in advancing dementia research. Through its Scientific Workforce Diversity Programs, NIA provides training opportunities for researchers from all racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, both within NIH and beyond. In 2021, NIA and NINDS, along with other NIH Institutes and Centers, issued a funding opportunity to support researchers who want to reenter the biomedical research workforce after life events have placed their research careers on hold.

Also in 2021, NINDS issued 15 supplements to existing grants to support new and talented independent researchers from diverse backgrounds conducting Alzheimer’s and related dementias research. NINDS also published a funding announcement to support Institutional AD/ADRD Research Training Program awards to enhance the depth and breadth of training across the spectrum of dementia research.

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Training and early career development programs spark a sustained interest in dementia research

NIH is dedicated to developing the biomedical research workforce through training and career development opportunities for students, early career scientists, and clinician researchers. In fiscal year 2021 and 2022, NIA directly supported nearly 800 trainees pursuing Alzheimer’s research, many with funds targeted to increase workforce diversity. An NIA analysis of 2015-2018 data found that 29% of Alzheimer’s and related dementias grant awardees were new investigators, and 38% were new to the field of Alzheimer’s research, indicating that the field is growing.

• NIA’s Summer Trainee in Aging Research Program and NINDS’ Summer Internship Program , both part of the broader NIH Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research , offer unique opportunities for high school, college, graduate, and medical students to obtain hands-on experience in scientific research .
• The Butler-Williams Scholars Program provides opportunities for junior faculty and researchers new to the field of aging to gain insights into aging research. This long-standing annual event includes lectures, seminars, and small group discussions on aging research design and studies on aging in ethnic and racial minority populations.

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NIH’s annual Alzheimer’s and related dementias research summits map dementia research initiatives

To advance the national strategy for dementia research, NIH gathers input through annual research summits. Hosted by NIA and NINDS, the summits bring together the broader scientific community, people living with dementia and their care partners, members of the advocacy community, and policymakers to present and discuss the most meritorious ideas and advancements in Alzheimer’s and related dementias research. Summit outcomes help inform annual updates to the National Plan and new or revised Research Implementation Milestones.

The 2023 National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons Living with Dementia and Their Care Partners/Caregivers will be held virtually March 20–22, 2023. A follow-on to the 2020 summit, this event will help to identify evidence-based programs, strategies, approaches, and other research that can be used to improve the care, services, and supports of people with dementia and their caregivers.

Beyond the annual research summits, NIH also gathers community input by hosting smaller workshops and scientific gatherings and through participation in workshops and conferences organized by other institutions across the United States and the world.

Additionally, reports commissioned by NIA from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) have proven extremely valuable in identifying aging and Alzheimer’s research gaps and informing future directions. Relevant NASEM projects have included a review of the evidence on interventions to prevent cognitive decline and dementia and an analysis of the evidence on dementia care and caregiving interventions , as well as a decadal survey (conducted every 10 years) focusing on developing a research agenda in the behavioral and social sciences .

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