RESEARCH EDUCATION CORE ABSTRACT More than 5 million people in the US have Alzheimer?s disease or related dementias (ADRD). Recent data show that rates of mortality attributable to ADRD are soaring, especially among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN), among whom ADRD mortality rose by 80% between 1999 and 2014. No population-specific estimates are available for Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders (NHPIs), but ADRD mortality in the general population of Hawaii increased by 59% over the same period. Yet, AI/AN and NHPI participants are rarely included in ADRD research, despite striking increases in life expectancy. Furthermore, because very few AI/AN or NHPI scientists conduct ADRD research, this field of study receives no benefit from the unique ?insider? perspectives that such researchers would offer. The goal of this Native Alzheimer?s Disease-related Resource Center in Minority Aging Research (NAD-RCMAR) is to build research capacity, enhance diversity in the professional workforce, and nurture innovative social science, behavioral, and economic research on ADRD. The scientific focus of the Research Education Component will be population-level health disparities related to ADRD in AI/ANs and NHPIs, including behavioral, sociocultural, and environmental factors, grounded in the health disparities research framework endorsed by NIA. Each NAD-RCMAR Scientist engaged in a Pilot Study will have a mentoring team comprising a biostatistician, a successful underrepresented minority (URM) researcher, and a senior scientist. Another key component will be training on ADRD, research methods, health disparities, and minority aging. These integrated activities will help NAD-RCMAR Scientists obtain external funding, such as grants in the K and R01 series. We will partner with researchers at the University of Colorado and Stanford University and leverage our successes and lessons learned over the past 20 years through our currently funded RCMAR, the Native Elder Research Center. We will also benefit from our ongoing collaborations with the leadership of 3 Alzheimer?s Disease Centers and actively solicit pilot applications from AI/AN, NHPI, and other URM investigators.
Our Specific Aims are to: 1) Offer financial, logistical, and scientific resources to support Pilot Studies on ADRD among AI/AN or NHPI communities in order to generate preliminary population-level data for subsequent grant applications; 2) Increase the number of AI/AN and NHPI professionals capable of conducting ADRD research; 3) Initiate and maintain mentoring relationships between senior researchers and NAD-RCMAR Scientists; 4) Improve the methodological skills of NAD-RCMAR Scientists through their participation in Pilot Studies and educational sessions; and 5) Publish findings of Pilot Studies in high-impact journals. NIA leadership has stated that AI/ANs and other URMs are priority populations to include in ADRD research. NAD-RCMAR will promote their participation in Pilot Studies while engaging NAD-RCMAR Scientists in career training and research activities that will prepare them to become independent investigators and enrich this field of inquiry.
