History of USC ADRC
Founded in 1984 as one of the first five Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers designated by the National Institute on Aging, the University of Southern California Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (USC ADRC) has stood at the forefront of ADRD research for decades. USC’s pioneering spirit is bolstered by its historic contributions, notably establishing the first School of Gerontology in the United States in 1975.
Milestones
Significance in ADRD Research
4 major characteristics position the USC ADRC as a leader in the ADRD research community:
Neuroscience & AD are major strengths at USC.
We have 5 major cross-center initiatives.
We Built an Outstanding Team.
Our Population is Diverse.
Neuroscience & AD are major strengths at USC.
The USC president designates brain health as one of the five moonshots. The ADRC supports major ADRD centers and institutes that the university has established for AD. USC is home to the first School of Gerontology in the United States (1975) and is among the first five inaugural Alzheimer Disease Research Centers (ADRC) funded by the National Institute on Aging (1984) (PI: CE Finch). During the past 20 years, the University of Southern California has continued to invest in this area and build a robust research infrastructure to support the discovery and treatment of Alzheimer disease (AD) and related disorders (ADRD). Cornerstones include the Zilkha Neurogenetics Institute (ZNI-2003), Stevens Institute for Neuroimaging and Informatics (INI-2013), Alzheimer Therapeutics Research Institute (ATRI-2015), and most recently, the Center for Personalized Brain Health (CPBH-2023). Further, The Vice President for Research (Puri), Senior Vice President for Health Sciences (Shapiro) and the Dean of the Keck School of Medicine (Meltzer) provide generous institutional support to the USC ADRC (see letter of support Overall).
We have 5 major cross-center initiatives.
1) The ADRC supports ATRI/ACTC to provide informatics, develop biomarkers, recruit participants from URG and train the next generation of clinical ADRD researchers.2) The ADRC works closely with the INI to develop new MR imaging sequences as well as to evaluate these in participants who have undergone previous standardized imaging among other measures.
3) The ADRC-INI encourages training to cultivate experts in neuroimaging, advance brain imaging modalities, and informatics, analytics, and AI approaches in addition to supporting national initiatives (Laboratory of Neuroimaging-LONI).
4) The ADRC REC works with RCMAR to cultivate and support demography research, addressing disparities supporting URM scientists.
5) The newly founded CPBH bridges ADRD research with our clinical enterprise, focused on APOE 4, and supports the mission of the ADRC by providing institutional support to develop a registry, recruit translational physician scientists, and promote memory clinic growth.
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We Built an Outstanding Team.
During the current funding cycle, we have recruited established investigators and have mentored early-stage investigators at USC. Specifically, over the past year, the ADRC has recruited to its core leadership: Anne Hiniker MD, PhD (Pathology Core, from UCSD), Robert Rissman PhD (Biomarker Core, ATRI, from UCSD), David Conti PhD (Data Core, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences), Daniel Nation PhD (Data Core, School of Gerontology, returned to USC from UCI), and Duke Han PhD (REC, School of Letters, Arts, and Sciences). Continuity and mentorship are provided by Lon Schneider (Clinical Core), Maria Aranda (ORE Core), John Ringman (ORE Core), Debra Hawes (Pathology Core). We have designed specific training programs to foster the development of our early-stage faculty which include Elizabeth Joe (Clinical Core), Xinhui Wang (Data Core), Michael Bienkowski (Pathology Core), and Ioannis Pappas (Imaging Core). As a team of multi-disciplinary investigators and the source of integrated, standardized, multi-dimensional data, the USC ADRC serves as a local catalyst and national collaborator in AD/ADRD research. Succession planning for the overall ADRC leadership is outlined in the Administrative Core.