The University of New Mexico’s Center for Memory & Aging has been awarded a five-year $21.7 million program grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support its Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC). The funding, provided through the National Institute on Aging's P30 grant, follows a three-year exploratory grant that UNM previously received in its bid to join the network of 35 research universities within the ADRC network.
Gary Rosenberg, MD, a professor in the UNM Department of Neurology and director of the Center for Memory & Aging, who serves as principal investigator on the grant, said, “Obtaining this grant was a major team effort and we are all excited by this opportunity. These centers have a life of their own once they get going. We’ve got the snowball built, and now the university and state will have to help us keep it rolling.”
Established in 1984, the ADRC network offers operational support across the U.S. for multidisciplinary research aimed at understanding the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The ultimate goal is to discover methods to treat and possibly prevent these diseases.
Rosenberg further explained that dementia is seen as a collection of disorders with different causes. Alzheimer’s disease is considered the most common among them. At UNM, researchers have been utilizing artificial intelligence techniques to identify key imaging and fluid biomarkers that can differentiate between Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
As part of their ongoing work under the new ADRC, UNM researchers will investigate ways to reduce inflammation's impact on disease progression. Additionally, efforts will be made to include groups historically overlooked in studies such as African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans.
The NIH has recently broadened biomedical research scope to incorporate these groups. Over recent years, brain imaging studies have been conducted at Zuni and Acoma Pueblos in western New Mexico using a portable MRI scanner, accompanied by on-site neuropsychological testing conducted by specially trained tribal members.
With the new grant funding, the ADRC’s Outreach, Recruitment and Engagement Core will focus on recruiting study participants from communities throughout the state. The aim is to further reduce disparities related to access to health research.
Rosenberg acknowledged Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico’s Congressional delegation, UNM leadership and faculty and the New Mexico chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association for supporting the application for the award. The grant will involve research faculty and staff from both UNM Health Sciences and Central Campus.
The grant is supported by the NIH’s National Institute on Aging (P30AG086404). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
