The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
has awarded Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center a grant worth an estimated
$8.7 million over five years for the establishment of a new center for research
into Alzheimer’s disease.
The
Alzheimer’s Disease Core Center (ADCC) at Wake Forest Baptist is among 31
NIH-funded research centers in the country. It serves the Southeast, the U.S.
region with the highest per capita rates of Alzheimer’s and other age-related
cognitive disorders.
The
mission of the ADCC is to promote Alzheimer’s research and education and to
contribute to the national network of NIH-funded centers. Its primary focus
will be on the role played by vascular and metabolic disorders in the
occurrence of Alzheimer’s.
“The
ADCC will provide extensive resources for coordinated, multidisciplinary
investigations into how diabetes, peripheral vascular disease and other common
conditions affect the transitions from normal aging to mild cognitive
impairment and then to Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” said the center’s
director, Suzanne Craft, Ph.D., professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine
at Wake Forest School of Medicine, a part of Wake Forest Baptist. “We
anticipate that the knowledge we gain will contribute to the development of
innovative strategies for prevention and treatment.”
Craft
said the ADCC also will provide training in translational research to new
investigators and develop educational programs about Alzheimer’s and dementia
for health care professionals, patients and their family members and the
community at large.
Craft also credits
philanthropic support, particularly from the Kulynych family of North Carolina
and the Texas-based Hartman Foundation, for accelerating Wake Forest Baptist’s
progress toward becoming a nationally recognized research center for
Alzheimer’s.
The
associate directors of the ADCC at Wake Forest Baptist are Jeff D. Williamson,
M.D., professor and section chief of gerontology and geriatric medicine, and
Laura Baker, Ph.D., associate professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine.
“We’re
uniquely equipped to be a high-impact center because of our deep and strong
foundation in aging research, specialized expertise in metabolic and vascular
disorders, well-established ties to an ethnically diverse community with a high
prevalence of these conditions, and exceptional institutional support,” said
Edward Abraham, M.D., dean of Wake Forest School Medicine.
The
National Institute on Aging (NIA) at NIH established the Alzheimer’s center
networks at major medical institutions across the U.S. to enable the sharing of
new approaches, technologies and research results. Although each center has its
own area of emphasis, all are working to translate research advances into
improved diagnosis and care for people with dementia while pursuing the
long-term goal of finding a way to cure and possibly prevent Alzheimer’s.
“We
are delighted to welcome the Wake Forest Baptist ADCC into our collaborative
network of cutting-edge researchers and clinicians focused on diagnosing this
complex disorder in diverse populations, and finding effective interventions to
treat or prevent dementia,” said Nina Silverberg, Ph.D., NIA Alzheimer’s
disease centers program officer.