The Science of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
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Summary The supplement will establish a new program on the science of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) for social scientists. The purpose of the program is to expose a diverse group of both junior and more advanced social scientists, who are interested in better understanding and ultimately contributing to research in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, to the biomedical foundations of ADRD. The program supports the goals of USC RCMAR, which include mentoring and educating pilot‐funded RCMAR scientists to support achievement of pilot studies’ goals and through award of independent grants in ADRD. This supplement fills a need expressed by current RCMAR social scientists for training in biomedical foundations of ADRD in order to produce better informed and more impactful research on the racial and ethnic differences in ADRD risk, diagnosis and treatment of ADRD, and opportunities for reducing risk and improving outcomes across diverse populations. A limited background in the biomedical science of aging generally, and ADRD specifically, may discourage some social scientists from contributing to this important research domain. The pool of social scientists currently working in ADRD from which solicit pilot proposals is small and the proposed program will help grow this pool. The program supports the goal of USC RCMAR of diversifying the ADRD research community. We will specifically recruit racially/ethnically diverse scholars of the social sciences as well as women who are traditionally underrepresented in the field of economics for participation in the program. The program consists of a one‐day series of lectures by national experts on a range of biomedical perspectives on ADRD. Scheduled interaction time between lectures will facilitate the connection of researchers from diverse disciplines and institutions. The ultimate goal of the program is to provide these scholars with the background to pursue high‐impact research in this area and better inform their research in this area. It will also facilitate new multi‐disciplinary collaborations in the area of ADRD research.
