Research Project
9747926
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) of the prosed COBRE Center for Neurodegeneration and Translational Neuroscience (CNTN) will provide research infrastructure for clinical research (personal, resources, equipment), develop a Clinical Cohort of well characterized patients for Projects 1 and 2, and foster the growth of project leaders/junior investigators. The Clinical Cohort will consist of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD), and Parkinson's disease (PD) with no cognitive impairment (PD-NCI), PD-MCI as well as cognitively normal controls (CNC). 140 patients will be entered into the CRTC as determined by power analyses of Project 1 and Project 2. The Clinical Cohort will be structured to reflect the diversity of the population of Nevada with assistance from community leaders. Resources of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health (LRCBH) that will support the CTRC include MRI and PET imaging and a team of individuals with experience in clinical trials/clinical research including IRB experts, patient recruitment specialists, and clinical research coordinators and assistants. The CTRC is led by Dr. Kate Zhong, a geriatric psychiatrist with academic and industry experience in clinical trials and clinical research. Project Leaders will include operational and regulatory support, project management, and research instruction from the CTRC. This interaction is critical in developing research skills for junior investigators that will allow them to transition to independent support. The CTRC will collect and enter Project-related data in conjunction with the Data Management and Statistics Core (DMSC) of the CNTN. The CTRC has formative and summative assessment programs that will insure success in achieving its specific aims.
