Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center
In April 2004, UCSF was designated as a national Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) with the Fein Memory and Aging Center as the central coordinating site. Funded by the NIH, this large collaborative project involves multiple institutions and locations. It is designed to integrate basic science and clinical resources in order to investigate the clinical, molecular, neuropathological, and neuroimaging features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), non-AD dementias, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
The ADRC has two overarching aims:
- To bridge the gap between laboratory and clinical studies in dementia and aging.
- To explore the unique and overlapping symptoms seen in various neurodegenerative diseases.
The ADRC uses standardized and novel methods to examine patients and biological specimens, enabling new hypotheses to be tested regarding the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of dementia. The ADRC brings together investigators at various locations who are leaders in basic and clinical research on dementia. The core project is New Approaches to Dementia Heterogeneity.
Bluefield Project to Cure Frontotemporal Dementia
The Bluefield Project to Cure Frontotemporal Dementia works closely with the Fein Memory and Aging Center to accelerate research aimed at finding a cure for frontotemporal dementia (FTD). A nonprofit, the Bluefield Project funds collaborative basic, translational, and clinical research programs and partners with industry to find a cure for FTD caused by mutations in the progranulin gene.
California Alzheimer’s Disease Center
In 1984, the State of California established the California Alzheimer’s Disease Program (ADP) through legislation that sought to:
- Improve health care delivery to persons affected by Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers.
- Provide training and education to health care professionals, students, patients, caregivers, and the community.
- Advance diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD).
To carry out this mandate, the Alzheimer’s Disease Program established a network of ten dementia care Centers of Excellence at California medical schools. These California Alzheimer’s Disease Centers (CADCs) effectively and efficiently improve AD health care delivery, provide specialized training and education to health care professionals and others, and advance the diagnosis and treatment of AD.
Global Brain Health Institute
The Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) aims to lessen the scale and impact of dementia through three key approaches:
- Training and connecting the next generation of leaders in brain health through the Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health program.
- Expanding prevention strategies and interventions that address dementia and its effects.
- Sharing knowledge and advocating for brain health.
This partnership is co-directed by internationally renowned leaders at UCSF and Trinity College Dublin.
Tau Consortium
The Tau Consortium commissions world-class research and drug discovery to treat and prevent progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and other tauopathies by ensuring scientists work collaboratively and by engaging partners to accelerate the consortium’s progress. The consortium acts with urgency to identify leading targets and target compounds that are ready for human trials.