Identifying priorities and supporting ADRD researchers through Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Research Education Components

Abstract

In 2018, The National Institute on Aging introduced Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Research Education Components (RECs) to support research educational activities to complement the training of a workforce to meet the nation's research needs in AD and related dementias, and develop the next generation of scientists to lead cross-disciplinary, translational, team-science projects on AD or AD-related dementias. Identifying needs and priorities as well as determining the impact of RECs requires tracking of new initiatives, and collaboration between multiple supportive institutions. In September 2020, the ADRC REC Steering Committee was established. A major priority of the committee was to increase communication and collaboration between ADRC RECs and their trainees. To that end, the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center launched the ADRC REC website in 2021 (https://naccdata.org/adrc-resources/rec-home) to leverage existing training resources and share job and funding opportunities. To further assess needs, REC leaders were surveyed on how they defined, trained and supported their trainees. In September 2021, REC leaders met to discuss the survey results and inform the REC Steering Committee of ways that the RECs could collaborate and better support ADRD trainees. Twenty-eight of the 32 (88%) approached ADRCs responded to the survey. The results (Figure 1) determined that 1) trainee mentoring, 2) increasing the diversity of trainees and 3) promoting and creating training opportunities were the top priorities of ADRC RECs. The REC Steering Committee has aligned its goals to support these topics. The REC Steering Committee has established a collaboration with the Alzheimer's Association to create a core curriculum to support trainees and leverage the Association's Professional Interest Areas to elevate trainees. Additionally, a Diversity Workgroup comprising REC leaders and ADRC affiliates has been established to develop approaches to attract, retain, mentor and support diverse trainees. Bringing together and seeking input from the ADRC RECs helped identify existing opportunities as well as areas of growth for ADRC RECs. Increasing communication between RECs and supportive entities in the ADRD field, and tracking new initiatives, will facilitate greater support of ADRD researchers. Collecting metrics of need and impact will facilitate evaluation of the RECs' success over time.