Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC)

The Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) is a clinical trials infrastructure launched in December, 2017 and designed to accelerate and expand studies for therapies in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. ACTC's mission is to provide an optimal infrastructure, utilizing centralized resources and shared expertise, to accelerate the development of effective interventions for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.

The ACTC is jointly led by:

Paul Stephen Aisen, M.D. , director of the ATRI at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, San Diego
Reisa A. Sperling, M.D. , director of the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston
Ronald C. Petersen, M.D., Ph.D. , director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, professor of Neurology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, Minnesota

The ACTC is a cooperative agreement between the NIA and the grantees institutions. The NIA Project Scientist for the ACTC is Laurie Ryan.

Pre-Application Process

Working with the ACTC is a cooperative venture between the applicant, NIA, and the ACTC network. Prior to applying to the ACTC R01 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) ( PAR-20-309 ), prospective applicants should follow the "How to Apply" information on the ACTC website .

There are three proposal submission deadlines every year (April, August, and October). Deadlines are posted on the ACTC website. Applications are welcome from investigators in the pharmaceutical industry or academia, with a focus on pharmacological and/or non-pharmacological interventions. Studies may be Phase Ib, II or Phase III.

Step 1: Review the NIH Notice of Funding Opportunity. We strongly encourage that all applicants contact NIA program staff (listed below) in the early planning phases of any study to discuss the feasibility of conducting the proposed trial through the ACTC infrastructure.
Step 2: Download the study concept proposal and synopsis forms from the ACTC website .
Step 3: – Submit the ACTC Clinical Study Concept Proposal Form and Synopsis Form to the ACTC Program Administrator.
- Applicants must submit an ACTC Clinical Study Concept Proposal. This proposal includes the specific aims for the study, relevant preliminary data, and study design.
- The proposal will be reviewed first by the Protocol Evaluation Committee, and if allowed to move forward, will be voted on by the ACTC Steering Committee. The NIA project scientist is part of these committees.
- If you have any questions at all, please contact the ACTC Program Administrator, Sarah Walter
Step 4: Apply to the Notice of Funding Opportunity. (Note: Approval by the ACTC Steering Committee does not guarantee NIA funding.) If your proposal is approved by the ACTC steering committee, you may then formally apply to the ACTC R01 Notice of Funding Opportunity ( PAR-20-309 ) in collaboration with the ACTC Coordinating Center. Your application will then undergo NIH peer review and will receive an impact score. Applications will be funded based on score and NIA funding priorities.
- Applications that exceed $500,000 in direct costs in any one year require prior approval before submission (NOT-OD-02-004) . The applicant will need to contact NIA program staff, and any requests for submission must be received at least six weeks prior to the submission deadline.

ACTC Steering Committee Sites

The ACTC network consists of 35 sites in 24 states:

ACTC Network Site	Principal Investigator	City	State
Banner Alzheimer's Institute	David Weidman, MD	Phoenix	AZ
Banner Sun Health Research Institute (SHRI)	Alireza Atri, MD, PhD	Sun City	AZ
Brigham and Women's Hospital	Gad Marshall, MD	Boston	MA
Butler Hospital Memory and Aging Center	Stephen Salloway, MD	Providence	RI
Case Western Reserve University	Alan Lerner, MD	Beachwood	OH
Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health	Justin Miller, PhD	Las Vegas	NV
Columbia University Medical Center	Karen Bell, MD	New York	NY
Emory University School of Medicine	Ihab Hajjar, MD, MS	Atlanta	GA
Georgetown University	Raymond Scott Turner, MD, PhD	Washington	DC
Howard University	Thomas Obisesan, MD, MPH	Washington	DC
Indiana University	Martin Farlow, MD	Indianapolis	IN
Johns Hopkins University	Paul Rosenberg, MD	Baltimore	MD
Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville	Neil Graff-Radford, MD	Jacksonville	FL
Mayo Clinic, Rochester	Jonathan Graff-Radford, MD	Rochester	MN
Mount Sinai School of Medicine	Mary Sano, PhD	New York	NY
Oregon Health & Science University	Aimee Pierce, MD	Portland	OR
Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center	Jacobo Mintzer, MD	Charleston	SC
Rush University Medical Center	Neelum Aggarwal, MD	Chicago	IL
Stanford University	Victor Henderson, MD, MS	Palo Alto	CA
UC Davis	John Olichney, MD	Davis	CA
UC Irvine	David Sultzer, MD	Irvine	CA
UC San Francisco	Adam Boxer, MD, PhD	San Francisco	CA
University of Alabama at Birmingham	David Geldmacher, MD	Birmingham	AL
University of Kansas	Jeffrey Burns, MD, MS	Kansas City	KS
University of Kentucky	Gregory Jicha, MD, PhD	Lexington	KY
University of Michigan	Judith Heidebrink, MD, MS	Ann Arbor	MI
University of Pennsylvania	Jason Karlawish, MD	Philadelphia	PA
University of Pittsburgh	Oscar Lopez, MD	Pittsburgh	PA
University of Rochester	Anton Porsteinsson, MD	Rochester	NY
University of South Florida / Byrd Institute	Amanda Smith, MD	Tampa	FL
University of Southern California	Lon Schneider, MD	Los Angeles	CA
University of Washington (SIBCR)	Elaine Peskind, MD	Seattle	WA
Wake Forest School of Medicine	Suzanne Craft, PhD	Winston-Salem	NC
Washington University in St. Louis	Joy Snider, MD, PhD	Saint Louis	MO
Yale University	Christopher van Dyck, MD	New Haven	CT

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ACTC the only means by which NIA funds Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD) clinical trials?

No, the ACTC is limited in its capacity to 5-7 trials during the five-year award period. Furthermore, not every trial is appropriate for this consortium. NIA has a long-standing history of funding pharmacological and non-pharmacological AD/ADRD clinical trials through several other means, and will continue to do so:

Early and Late Stage Clinical Trials for the Spectrum of Alzheimer's Disease/Alzheimer's Related Dementias and Age-Related Cognitive Decline (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-21-359)
Pilot Studies for the Spectrum of Alzheimer's Disease/Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias and Age-Related Cognitive Decline (R61 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-21-360)

Do I need to plan my study to use all 35 of the ACTC sites?

No, not every study will use all the sites. The number and choice of sites should be tailored to the specific project being proposed.

Can I propose sites for my study in addition to the ACTC sites?

Yes, you may propose additional sites if there is scientific or practical rationale for doing so.

Program Contacts

NIA Project Scientist (Pharmacological Interventions):
Laurie Ryan, Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-496-9350
Email Laurie Ryan

NIA Program Officer (Non-Pharmacological Interventions):
Kristina McLinden, Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-496-9350
Email Kristina McLinden