Academic, not-for-profit investigators can request the following resources from the UCSF Memory and Aging Center (MAC):

• Subjects for research studies
• Archived data
• Imaging data
• Tissue specimens
• Video clips of behaviors

Prior to submitting your application, you must consult the appropriate core leader. Failure to do so could delay approval of your request. If you have any questions on which core is appropriate, contact Rosalie Gearhart at (415) 476-5570.

• Clinical Core — Dr. Bruce Miller
• Psychometric Data — Dr. Joel Kramer
• Neuropathology/Tissue Core — Dr. William Seeley
• Data Management & Biostatistics Core (can be of substantial help regarding design, power estimations and analyses) — Prof. John Neuhaus
• Neuroimaging Core — Dr. Michael Weiner

Investigators who propose use of UCSF MAC resources need to submit a completed proposal (abstract, purpose, background and preliminary findings, methods, analytical plan) to the UCSF MAC Resource Request Executive Committee for review.

Human studies approvals

You must have Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from the UCSF Committee on Human Research (CHR) to use human subjects, their tissue, imaging or other derived data from the UCSF MAC in your study. The UCSF CHR will not review the application until the UCSF MAC Executive Committee has signed off on the proposal and consent form. Therefore, please submit your proposal early enough for UCSF MAC Resource Request Executive Committee review. You can get the forms to submit your protocol on the UCSF CHR website.

IRB approval is not required for submitting your proposal to the MAC for review. However, you must provide us a copy of your IRB approved protocol and consent form approval prior to initiating your study. Multi-year studies should forward copies of renewed approval annually to the UCSF MAC office:

UCSF MAC Resource Request Executive Director
UCSF Box 1207
San Francisco, CA 94143-1207

Failure to provide your approvals to the UCSF MAC office will delay your access to UCSF MAC resources.

Please include language in your consent form that permits the future use of the data you collect (e.g., "Your data may be used by the research team now and in the future to answer questions about health concerns, memory and thinking.")

If your request involves archival data, imaging or tissue, approval or exemption from the UCSF CHR is still required (e.g., analyses of computerized images or re-analysis of previously collected data to answer a new question).

Human studies rules regarding use of subject names

It is a violation of University policy and our UCSF MAC human studies approval to link the names and scores of subjects in any way. All individual data must be kept and filed by UCSF MAC subject identification number, not the subject's name or initials. Should a second unique identifier be necessary as a cross-check, we recommend you use the subject's date of birth. Any communication (with the UCSF MAC or anyone else) should use subject ID numbers, never names.

All investigators must abide by the Committee on Human Research and HIPAA guidelines regarding the securing of subject names. In the CHR application, indicate how you will preserve confidentiality. Your approval depends on this.

Deviations from the use of UCSF MAC assigned subject ID numbers must first be discussed with the Data Management and Biostatistics Core. Such deviations create an inability to pair individual project's data with UCSF MAC core data.

Investigator orientation to use of UCSF MAC subjects

Before any testing with UCSF MAC subjects can begin, the investigator and any research assistant who may be in contact with subjects will receive an orientation to procedures for contact and interaction with subjects. This orientation includes how they will receive subject information, the "dos and don'ts" of scheduling and testing UCSF MAC subjects, reporting weekly schedules, etc.

Animal studies approvals

Studies using animal subjects in conjunction or association with UCSF MAC investigations must obtain approval from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of UCSF. A copy of the approval must be sent to the UCSF MAC.

Data sharing

Data from UCSF MAC research projects "belong" to the individual investigators, but the principle of data sharing is endorsed. Such sharing requires mutual trust and cooperation.

Data from the UCSF MAC cores should be easily available to all UCSF MAC investigators. When data from a core are to be used by an investigator not in that core, the core leader should be informed, the contribution of the core should be acknowledged in resulting publications and co-authorship from the core should be considered when appropriate by reason of intellectual contribution. If there are concerns or ambiguous situations, contact Rosalie Gearhart at (415) 476-5570.

Time limitation

Unless approved for a longer period of time, all requests are "active" for a maximum of 18 months or until the number of approved samples have been provided, whichever comes first. If more time is needed to complete your project, please submit a new resource request.

Submit request

Use the online UCSF MAC Resource Request Form to submit your application. All MAC resource requests must include a completed UCSF MAC Data Use Agreement and be approved by the UCSF MAC Resource Request Executive Committee, which meets monthly to review all requests.

The UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) also maintains resources for investigators collaborating with UCSF.