Scholars reflect on first ADRC‐REC cycle

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundIn 2018, the National Institute on Aging introduced Research Education Components (RECs) within the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) to support educational activities to complement the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s 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.MethodsIn April 2023, the ADRC REC National Steering Committee surveyed current and former REC scholars from the 37 ADRCs to learn about their experiences.ResultsWe had responses from 26 of the 37 centers (70%) and 52 of the 55 REC scholars who completed the survey gave us permission to share their responses. Scholars ranged from graduate students to tenured faculty. The most common areas of research focus were basic or discovery science (42%) and neurosciences (35%). The least common areas of focus were social policy (2%), neuropsychology (2%) and pharmacology/drug discovery (6%). Regarding support, the most common responses were that their REC program provided them with funds to support a research project (79%), provided mentor support (71%), provided training to develop their research (65%), and helped them understand how Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers worked (65%). Some scholars reported that their programs have standard training courses for all scholars (35%), while other programs have training that is unique to each scholar’s needs (54%). Forty‐nine scholars (94%) said they would have benefited from earlier REC support and training during their graduate and post‐doc stages.A goal of the REC is to diversify the field of ADRD researchers. This survey showed the demographic breakdowns included White (52%), African American (13%), Hispanic or Latinx (13%), East Asian (12%), South Asian (8%), and some chose not to report (2%). More respondents identified as females (48%) than males (37%).ConclusionThere is a heterogeneity of approaches to develop REC scholars with an emphasis on funding, mentoring and networking. The most common request from scholars was for more collaboration and networking between scholars from other ADRCs. REC Scholars seek more connections and clear definitions of the expected outcomes of the REC scholar initiative.