North Carolina Central University hosted the 2024 Symposium for Learning about Alzheimer’s disease-related Medical research at Duke and UNC (SLAM-DUNC) on September 12-13, 2024, sponsored by the Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC).

Faculty, researchers, clinicians, and trainees from 14 different institutions participated in the event. Since 2022, the Duke/UNC ADRC has organized the symposium to connect dementia researchers from across the eastern half of North Carolina.

Early-career researchers participated in poster sessions and presentations. Keynote speakers from UCLA and Wake Forest University shared groundbreaking research on women’s risk for dementia and insight on engaging marginalized communities in Alzheimer’s research.

North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a historically black university (HBCU) located in Durham, was founded in 1910 to provide a liberal arts education for African Americans.  Today, NCCU houses a robust Alzheimer’s disease research program through its Biomanufacturing Research Institute & Technology Enterprise (BRITE) and the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical and Biotechnology Research Institute (JLC-BBRI).

As a partner university of the ADRC Research Education Component (REC) Core, NCCU researchers participate in educational events and research collaborations across the ADRC.

Dr. Kyle Walsh, Duke University Associate Professor and REC Core Co-Lead, said, “The 2024 SLAM-DUNC was a terrific event that served as a hub for Alzheimer’s-focused research being conducted across the state of North Carolina. The Duke and UNC teams are immensely grateful to NCCU and to Dr. Dayami Lopez for hosting us all on their wonderful campus this year.”

“Hosting the SLAM DUNC at NCCU was an inspiring experience that underscored the power of collaboration in advancing scientific innovation in Alzheimer’s Disease research,” said Dr. Dayami Lopez, NCCU Associate Professor and REC Core consultant.

“It provided an invaluable platform to showcase NCCU’s research capabilities and foster meaningful interactions and collaborations among students and faculty from the various institutions participating in the ADRC,” Lopez said.

NCCU Associate Professor Dr. Bin Xu knows firsthand the benefit of cross-institutional collaborations to enhance research outcomes. Through the ADRC he established a partnership with Duke faculty Dr. Andy Liu and Dr. Jerry Wang to access brain tissue and biofluid samples for his research on Alzheimer’s biomarkers. This collaboration has resulted in multiple publications.

This year, SLAM-DUNC facilitated another collaboration, this time with colleagues at East Carolina University, namely Assistant Professor Dr. Erzsebet Szatmari. “I attend the SLAM-DUNC symposium every year and bring my students along because it offers wonderful opportunities for learning, collaborating, and networking. This year, after the symposium, Dr. Bin Xu gave us a tour of the NCCU BRITE Research facility, and we were impressed by their research on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) drug discovery and the available infrastructure at BRITE. In fact, Dr. Xu will be our keynote speaker at this year’s Neuroscience Symposium at ECU. I think the Duke-UNC ADRC is a much-needed bridge to connect AD researchers from eastern NC universities with scientists from research powerhouses in the RTP area,” said Szatmari.   

Attendees enjoyed interacting with researchers from a variety of disciplines within dementia research. Nada Elbarbary, who recently received her MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences from NCCU, presented a poster at the event.

“I appreciated the opportunity to network with colleagues from Duke, UNC, and ECU, and share perspectives about neuroscience research projects including drug discovery projects and identification of new biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis,” Elbarbary said.

Dr. Donna Roberson, Professor in the ECU College of Nursing and REC Core consultant, summed up the event, “SLAM DUNC brings together innovation, knowledge, curiosity, and, best of all, passion to help those living with dementia, find cures and to support young scientists.”

“Those young scientists will cure Alzheimer’s disease”, said Roberson. “We saw the future right there in Durham in September. My undergraduate student remarked that there were so many ideas. The day showcased amazing work that was centered on good science and creativity to help people. Don’t miss next year!”

And there you have it. The Duke/UNC ADRC plans to hold the next SLAM DUNC in spring 2026, hosted by UNC-Chapel Hill.