University of Southern California Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (ADRD) Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (USC AD/ADRD RCMAR)
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Project Summary Leadership and Administration Core (LAC) The health, social and economic issues associated with dementia, and the inequitable burden of dementia across different racial/ethnic populations, are of such magnitude and complexity that they require a vantage point from multiple disciplines. Generating scientific evidence to advance dementia health equity requires rigorous methods applied to the best available data. The University of Southern California’s Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease Related Dementias Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (USC AD/ADRD RCMAR) brings a distinct capacity for integrating theories and tools from myriad disciplines including but not limited to economics, sociology, and gerontology, using large, complex data sets, and applying rigorous panel data and quasi- experimental methods to generate innovative AD/ADRD disparities research. Our interdisciplinary faculty have the support and expertise to advance research in our focus area: pathways by which social, behavioral and economic factors, and policies and health systems affect disparities in risk of AD/ADRD, and affect disparities in the health, health care and economic outcomes of persons living with dementia. We build upon our successful 10-year history of advancing the research and careers of underrepresented scholars. We bring together the infrastructure, leadership, interdisciplinary expertise and resources to: (1) increase the number, diversity, and scholarly achievements of scholars of dementia health equity research and; (2) develop new, innovative lines of research to advance dementia health equity. The USC AD/ADRD RCMAR is housed in the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, which brings together expertise in AD/ADRD from across USC’s schools, and maintains a large data core, analytical programming team, and external affairs team to support AD/ADRD research and disseminate findings for impact. To this we add resources and leaders from our partner NIA funded centers: USC’s Roybal Center for Behavioral Interventions of Aging, Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Center for Economic and Sociodemographic Study of AD/ADRD, and USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health. Importantly we have partnered with two HBCUs, Spelman College and Howard University, and California State University Fullerton - an Hispanic and Latinx serving institution. Their junior researchers and senior scholars and leaders are uniquely positioned to bring diverse perspectives and broaden the field of AD/ADRD research. We propose a Leadership and Administration Core (LAC) to provide visionary leadership and management for effective implementation of activities of LAC, Research Education and Analysis Cores; to support the selection of junior scientists and their pilot research proposals to meet goals of rigor in research and enhance diversity of dementia health equity scholars; evaluate mentorship and scholarship activities to learn and improve our practices; to structure and maintain active and effective internal and external communication; and to disseminate researching findings for impact and to elevate and build the scholarly reputation of scientists and collaborators.
Project Summary The health, social and economic issues associated with dementia, and the inequitable burden of dementia across different racial/ethnic populations, are of such magnitude and complexity that they require a vantage point from multiple disciplines. Generating scientific evidence to advance dementia health equity requires rigorous methods applied to the best available data. The University of Southern California’s Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease Related Dementias Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (USC AD/ADRD RCMAR) brings a distinct capacity for integrating theories and tools from myriad disciplines including but not limited to economics, sociology, and gerontology, using large, complex data sets, and applying rigorous panel data and quasi- experimental methods to generate innovative AD/ADRD disparities research. Our interdisciplinary faculty have the support and expertise to advance research in our focus area: pathways by which social, behavioral and economic factors, and policies and health systems affect disparities in risk of AD/ADRD, and affect disparities in the health, health care and economic outcomes of persons living with dementia. We build upon our successful 10-year history of advancing the research and careers of underrepresented scholars. We bring together the infrastructure, leadership, interdisciplinary expertise and resources to: (1) increase the number, diversity, and scholarly achievements of scholars of dementia health equity research and; (2) develop new, innovative lines of research to advance dementia health equity. The USC AD/ADRD RCMAR is housed in the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, which brings together expertise in AD/ADRD from across USC’s schools, and maintains a large data core, analytical programming team, and external affairs team to support AD/ADRD research and disseminate findings for impact. To this we add resources and leaders from our partner NIA funded centers: USC’s Roybal Center for Behavioral Interventions of Aging, Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Center for Economic and Sociodemographic Study of AD/ADRD, and USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health. Importantly we have partnered with two HBCUs, Spelman College and Howard University, and California State University Fullerton - an Hispanic and Latinx serving institution. Their junior researchers and senior scholars and leaders are uniquely positioned to bring diverse perspectives and broaden the field of AD/ADRD research. We propose a set of interrelated activities across three cores: (1) a Leadership and Administration Core to provide leadership, management, communication, and evaluation systems for achieving our goals; (2) a Research Education Core to selectively provided pilot research awards to junior scientists and team-based mentorship and professional development to support rigorous research and enhance the diversity of dementia disparities researchers; (3) an Analytical Core to develop new data and analytical resources to support innovative dementia disparities research.
Research Education Component Project Summary The University of Southern California AD/ADRD Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (USC AD/ADRD RCMAR) brings together an interdisciplinary team to provide infrastructure, expertise and resources to support research on AD/ADRD and related outcomes. The goals of the USC AD/ADRD RCMAR are to (1) increase the number, diversity, and scholarly achievements of researchers through funding and mentorship, and analytic and career development support, and (2) develop new, innovative lines of research on the social, behavioral, economic, and institutional causes and consequences of disparities in cognitive decline and AD/ADRD, and health and economic consequences of AD/ADRD. The Research Education Component Core (REC) within the USC AD/ADRD RCMAR is dedicated to developing the infrastructure needed to recruit, train, and mentor a diverse group of underrepresented scientists. The REC supports the overall goals of the USC AD/ADRD RCMAR by providing the resources and the infrastructure needed to: solicit and select pilot study proposals to ensure scientific rigor and enhance the diversity of researchers; to provide RCMAR scientists multidisciplinary mentoring, training in causal methods and in utilizing rich data source for AD/ADRD disparities research; to support RCMAR scientists’ professional development and their transition to productive independent research careers. The REC will build on its successes over the past 10 years and together with our partner HBCUs and HCI and partner Centers and affiliates, and infrastructure built by the Leadership and Administration core, will identify and support underrepresented scientists who will address new, innovative lines of research on the social, behavioral, economic, and institutional causes and consequences of disparities in cognitive decline and AD/ADRD, and health and economic consequences of AD/ADRD. REC supports scientists’ research by providing multidisciplinary mentoring and together with the Analysis core, training in methods and the use of large, complex and newly available data sources for dementia disparities research. The REC supports professional development to succeed in highly competitive academic environments and meet early career research expectations. Finally, the REC tracks the successes of pilot scientists during the award and post-award periods and offers continued support over time. An External Advisory Committee (EAC) and Core leadership support the REC in the process of pilot scientist selection and evaluate and provide feedback on REC activities including mentoring, training, and scientist tracking. The EAC includes leadership from our partner institutions serving minority scholars, Spelman College, Howard University, and California State University Fullerton, the USC Schaeffer Center, the USC Roybal Center for Behavioral Interventions of Aging, the USC Alzheimer Disease Research Center, and the USC Center of Economic and Social Research.
