Responding to the Call: Building a Training Program to Diversify the Academy in Alzheimer's Disease Research.

Lucy Annang Ingram,Daniela B. Friedman,Marvella E. Ford,Sue Ellen Levkoff,Christiana L. Johnson,Brianna Ashford-Carroll,Quentin McCollum

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.671956

Lucy Annang Ingram, Daniela B. Friedman + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.671956

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Abstract

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are at the forefront of the United States (US) public health agenda due to their tremendous human and financial burden. Further, disproportionately high ADRD rates among racial/ethnic minorities require incorporating the unique perspectives of racially and ethnically diverse scientists, which will necessitate diversifying the scientific workforce that investigates disparities in aging. The purpose of this paper is to describe the training and mentorship initiatives of the National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded Carolina Center on Alzheimer's Disease and Minority Research, emphasizing lessons learned from our engagement with underrepresented minority and minoritized (URM) Scientists. We highlight three aims of the Center's training and mentorship component: (1) Fund pilot projects for URM Scientists conducting research on sociocultural, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence ADRD-related health disparities; (2) Provide mentorship to build the research capacity of Center Scientists; and (3) Offer research education in Health Disparities and Minority Aging Research to Center Scientists and interested researchers at all partner institutions. Our experience may be a practical resource for others developing interdisciplinary training programs to increase the pipeline of URM Scientists conducting ADRD research.

Highlights

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) have risen to the forefront of the United States (US) public health agenda due to their tremendous human and financial burden [1,2,3]
Our experience may be a practical resource for others developing interdisciplinary training programs to increase the pipeline of underrepresented scholars conducting ADRD research
The number of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is growing, with projections of ADRD burden increasing in the US from 5 million adults aged 65 and over in 2014, to 14 million adults by midcentury

Summary

Introduction

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) have risen to the forefront of the United States (US) public health agenda due to their tremendous human and financial burden [1,2,3]. Finding solutions to reducing health disparities requires a racially and culturally diverse group of researchers who can conceptualize what the true problems are from the perspective of diverse populations [8,9,10,11,12,13]. When live seminars were held, the majority were hosted by, and located at the University of South Carolina; several seminars were hosted at partner institutions to facilitate access for scholars across the State. Zoom was chosen because it is accessible by participants at all of the partnering institutions

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