Goals and Activities:

• Assemble and follow a well-characterized diverse group of normal and cognitively impaired participants with standardized medical, neurologic, and neuropsychological evaluations.

• Facilitate the acquisition of biospecimens (blood and CSF), sensory and motor data, brain imaging and novel biomarkers from the participants.

• Provide participants and data to Duke and UNC investigators and the national Alzheimer’s disease research community for further investigation.

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Join Our Study:

The Duke-UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s Memory & Aging Study works to identify the biological factors involved in normal brain aging and disease with the help of a diverse group of young and older people with and without memory impairments.
How to participate>

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Available Resources:

Metabolomics: The Alzheimer’s Disease Metabolomics Consortium, directed by Dr. Rima Kaddurah-Daouk, brings together clinical and basic research leaders in Alzheimer’s Disease with centers of excellence in metabolomics, genetics, biochemistry, engineering, and bioinformatics.

Epigenetics: The Epidemiology and Environmental Epigenetics lab at North Carolina State University (NCSU), led by Dr. Cathrine Hoyo, investigates environmentally-induced alterations in the epigenome in the genesis of Alzheimer’s disease, including racial/ethnic differences.

Actigraphy: Several UNC investigators are active in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms in Alzheimer’s Disease and the use of wearable devices to obtain biomarkers.

Digital markers of cognitive ability: Novel tablet-based assessments of functional cognition can provide advanced testing capabilities independent of location.

Duke Substrate Services Core Research Support: Duke facility that processes and stores all bio-samples for distribution to investigators by the Clinical Core.

Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center at Duke University Medical Center: Interdisciplinary research imaging center that provides the latest research techniques in neuroimaging.

Duke Neurodegenerative Disease Retinal Imaging (DNRI) Repository: Houses retinal images of individuals with neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease.

ALL-FTD Consortium: Longitudinal study dedicated to characterizing the onset and progression of both sporadic and familial forms of frontotemporal dementia. Site at UNC, welcoming patient referrals.

Lewy Body Disease Consortium: Longitudinal study dedicated to characterizing the onset and progression of individuals with LBD.  Site at UNC, welcoming patient referrals.

Lewy Body Disease Research Center of Excellence: A network of 26 academic Centers around the U.S. where LBD patients and their families can turn for advanced LBD diagnosis and treatment. Site at UNC, welcoming patient referrals.

The Duke Memory Disorders Center and the UNC Memory Disorders Program provide specialized assistance to patients and caregivers affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders.

Find Clinical Trials

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Core Leader:

Richard O’Brien, MD, PhD Chair, Department of Neurology, Duke University Disque D. Deane University Distinguished Professor of Neurology (919) 668-2879

Associate Core Leaders:

		Kim G. Johnson, MD Geriatric Psychiatrist, Duke
		Heidi Roth, MD Associate Professor, UNC

Junior Associate Core Leader:

Andy Liu, MD, MS Assistant Professor, Duke Data Management Core Liaison

Faculty:

• James Burke, MD, PhD
  Biomedical Lead

• Guy Potter, PhD
  Neuropsychological Leader

• Whitney Robinson, PhD
  Co-Investigator

• Patrick Smith, PhD
  Investigator

Staff:

Shannon Casey Clinical Research Coordinator shannon.casey@duke.edu

Carolina Quiroga, MD, MBA Clinical Research Coordinator carolina.quiroga@duke.edu

Lindsay Washington Clinical Research Specialist lmw101@duke.edu

 

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