Research Project
10264193
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT - BIOMARKER CORE The Biomarker Core (BC) will provide access across the Arizona ADRC to advance brain imaging, fluid, and wearable/digital biomarker expertise, resources, data, and specimens for application with our center and complementary affiliated cohorts to support NIA ADRC program goals. The Arizona ADRC has a major thematic focus on advancing efforts in the use of blood-based biomarkers (BBBs) in the diagnosis, preclinical study and prevention of AD. The BC will facilitate this thematic focus by supporting ADRC researchers in their efforts to: 1) further clarify the cognitive and biological changes associated with preclinical AD; 2) validate and clarify the role of new brain imaging, CSF, and blood-based biomarkers in the early detection and tracking of AD and to evaluate the potential of wearable/digital technologies as behavioral AD biomarkers; 3) inform the design, endpoints, and statistical power of prevention trials in individuals at different levels of AD risk to support our goal of finding effective AD prevention therapies; and 4) provide a valuable shared resource for Arizona ADRC researchers, the NIA ADRC program nationally, and researchers around the world studying AD and related disorders. To achieve these goals, the BC will support the standardized acquisition, processing, and analysis of amyloid PET, tau PET, and MRI; the standardized collection, preparation, storage, and analysis of blood, CSF, and DNA samples; and the acquisition, processing, and analysis of wearable/digital behavioral biomarkers in clinically well-characterized ADRC participants, many of whom have also agreed to brain donation. The BC will maintain a strong relationship with NCRAD for the processing and banking of blood and CSF samples and will fully support the NIA SCAN initiative for the sharing and archiving of ADRC BC neuroimaging scans with NACC. The BC will provide expertise and support to help ADRC researchers fully utilize the core resources and will work with each of the Arizona ADRC Cores, as well as investigators within and outside Arizona, to advance AD-related research. The BC will address the following specific aims: 1) to provide access to amyloid and tau PET, MRI scans, CSF and blood samples, and wearable/digital activity data across the Arizona ADRC; 2) to make available for research neuroimaging data, fluid specimens and biomarkers, and wearable/digital activity data from clinically well-characterized ADRC participants; 3) to support the development, evaluation, and implementation of blood-based biomarkers for early detection and tracking of AD risk and pathology; 4) to provide a resource of expertise and support for brain image processing and analysis for use in AD-related research studies; and 5) to foster collaborative research by working closely with each of the Arizona ADRC Cores, as well as users of these core resources inside and outside Arizona.
