Education / Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Training Program

University of Rochester Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Training Program (UR-AADTP)

Description/Mission Statement

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) represent a leading public health challenge in the U.S. and worldwide. Over 7.5 million older Americans have ADRD, a figure expected to double in the next 25 years. Already the 5^th leading cause of death in older adults, mortality due to ADRD has risen 135% in the last two decades even as deaths due to heart disease and some cancers have decreased. Its impact on the older person, caregivers, and society is great, with associated care costs in the U.S. expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2050. Despite heavy investment in its study, progress in the scientific understanding of ADRD has been slow and still there is neither a cure nor effective means to substantially slow disease progression.

To accelerate progress in the understanding, treatment, and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), established strengths at the University of Rochester in foundational and translational research on aging and ADRD have been leveraged to create the University of Rochester Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Training Program (UR-AADTP), a predoctoral graduate training program currently supported by the National Institute of Aging (T32 AG0776455).

Through an innovative curriculum that includes memory care clinical exposure, UR-AADTP’s primary objective is to develop a cadre of early-stage scientists with the depth and breadth of knowledge, skills, appreciation, and experience necessary to establish careers as independent investigators in the areas of aging and dementia research; to work in an interdisciplinary environment designed to aggressively translate research to practice; and to reduce the toll of cognitive disorders in later life.

Note from the Directors

It is an exciting time to be in aging and ADRD research: clues are emerging about molecular mechanisms that reduce age-associated changes and new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are providing hope for individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Yet, despite these advances, there is much more work to be done to achieve the full promise of “healthy aging” and reduced ADRD burden. The University of Rochester has a long history of engagement in aging and Alzheimer’s disease research and clinical care and a pervasive culture of interdisciplinary and translational research. These are exemplified by strong research and clinical care organized under several umbrellas, including:

UR-AADTP provides a pathway for predoctoral students to enrich their engagement in aging and ADRD research through interactions with a cohort of similarly engaged students, faculty representing the continuum of basic to patient centered research, and memory care physicians and staff and the individuals they see. This website highlights our trainees, our training faculty, and the training pathway that makes up this program.

In science,

UR-AADTP Co-Directors

M. Kerry O’Banion, MD, PhD
Professor of Neuroscience
Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience

Vera Gorbunova, PhD
Doris John Cherry Professor of Biology
Co-Director, Rochester Aging Research Center